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Proteomic and Transcriptomic Analyses of Fecundity in the Brown Planthopper Nilaparvata lugens (Stål)
journal contribution
posted on 2013-11-01, 00:00 authored by Yifan Zhai, Jianqing Zhang, Zhongxiang Sun, Xiaolin Dong, Yuan He, Kui Kang, Zhichao Liu, Wenqing ZhangAs
an r-strategy insect species, the brown planthopper
(BPH) Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) is a serious
pest of rice crops in the temperate and tropical regions of Asia and
Australia, which may be due to its robust fecundity. Here we combined
2-DE comparative proteomic and RNA-seq transcriptomic analyses to
identify fecundity-related proteins and genes. Using high- and low-fecundity
populations as sample groups, a total of 54 and 75 proteins were significantly
altered in the third and sixth day brachypterous female stages, respectively,
and 39 and 54 of these proteins were identified by MALDI-TOF/TOF MS.
In addition, 71 966 unigenes were quantified by Illumina sequencing.
On the basis of the transcriptomic analysis, 7408 and 1639 unigenes
demonstrated higher expression levels in the high-fecundity population
in the second day brachypterous female adults and the second day fifth
instar nymphs, respectively, and 411 unigenes were up-regulated in
both groups. Of these dozens of proteins and thousands of unigenes,
five were differentially expressed at both the protein and mRNA levels
at all four time points, suggesting that these genes may regulate
fecundity. Glutamine synthetase (GS) was chosen for further functional
studies. RNAi knockdown of the GS gene reduced the fecundity of N. lugens by 64.6%, disrupted ovary development, and inhibited
vitellogenin (Vg) expression. Our results show that a combination
of proteomic and transcriptomic analyses provided five candidate proteins
and genes for further study. The knowledge gained from this study
may lead to a more fundamental understanding of the fecundity of this
important agricultural insect pest.