The cuticle, an essential structure for insects, is produced from cuticular proteins and chitin via a series of biochemical reactions. Tweedle genes are important members of the cuticular protein family and have four ...The cuticle, an essential structure for insects, is produced from cuticular proteins and chitin via a series of biochemical reactions. Tweedle genes are important members of the cuticular protein family and have four conserved motifs binding to chitin. Tweedle family genes have been found to play a profound effect on cuticle development. Here, we report that the cuticular protein gene LmTwdll ofLocusta migratoria belongs to the Tweedle family. In situ hybridization showed that LmTwdll is localized to epidermal cells of the cuticle. The expression patterns of LmTwdll showed low expression in the cuticle during the early and middle stages of the fifth-instar nymphs; in contrast, its expression rapidly increased in the late stages of fifth-instar nymphs. We performed RNA interference to examine the function of LmTwdll in locusts. Silencing of LmTwdll resulted in high mortality during the molting process before the next stage. Also, the epicuticle of nymphs failed to molt, tended to be thinner and the arrangement of chitin in the procuticle appeared to be disordered compare to the control group. These results demonstrate that LmTwdl! plays a critical role in molting, which contributes to a better understanding of the distinct functions of the Tweedle family in locusts.展开更多
基金This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China Grants （Nos. 31472051, 31201710）, Natural Science Foundation of Shanxi Province of China （2014011028-3）, Fund Program for the Scientific Activities of Selected Returned Overseas Professionals in Shanxi Province, the Platform Project of Science and Technology in Shanxi Province （2015091010）, and National Basic Research Program of China （No. 2012CB114102）. We thank Dr. Feng Jiang for critical comments on the manuscript.
文摘The cuticle, an essential structure for insects, is produced from cuticular proteins and chitin via a series of biochemical reactions. Tweedle genes are important members of the cuticular protein family and have four conserved motifs binding to chitin. Tweedle family genes have been found to play a profound effect on cuticle development. Here, we report that the cuticular protein gene LmTwdll ofLocusta migratoria belongs to the Tweedle family. In situ hybridization showed that LmTwdll is localized to epidermal cells of the cuticle. The expression patterns of LmTwdll showed low expression in the cuticle during the early and middle stages of the fifth-instar nymphs; in contrast, its expression rapidly increased in the late stages of fifth-instar nymphs. We performed RNA interference to examine the function of LmTwdll in locusts. Silencing of LmTwdll resulted in high mortality during the molting process before the next stage. Also, the epicuticle of nymphs failed to molt, tended to be thinner and the arrangement of chitin in the procuticle appeared to be disordered compare to the control group. These results demonstrate that LmTwdl! plays a critical role in molting, which contributes to a better understanding of the distinct functions of the Tweedle family in locusts.
