草地贪夜蛾海藻糖合成酶基因的克隆、时空表达谱及对温度胁迫的响应

【目的】本研究旨在通过克隆草地贪夜蛾Spodoptera frugiperda的海藻糖合成酶(trehalose-6-phosphate synthase)基因SfTPS,分析其在草地贪夜蛾不同发育阶段、不同组织中的表达水平及不同温度胁迫时5龄幼虫中的相对表达量,为进一步探究TPS在草地贪夜蛾生长发育及抗逆应激反应中的功能奠定基础。【方法】运用RT-PCR技术克隆草地贪夜蛾SfTPS的全长编码区,并进行生物信息学分析。运用RT-qPCR技术检测SfTPS在草地贪夜蛾不同发育阶段(卵、1-6龄幼虫、蛹和成虫)、5龄幼虫不同组织(体壁、中肠和脂肪体)中和经短期(2, 4和8 h)高(35℃)低温(10℃)胁迫后5龄幼虫中的表达变化。【结果】克隆获得2 571 bp的草地贪夜蛾TPS cDNA序列,命名为SfTPS(GenBank登录号： MT920672),全长开放阅读框(ORF)长2 481 bp,编码的826个氨基酸具有TPS和TPP两个保守结构域。同源比对和系统进化分析表明,昆虫TPS蛋白具有较高的保守性,SfTPS与斜纹夜蛾S. litura的TPS亲缘关系最近,序列一致性达到99.15%。SfTPS中α-螺旋、β-折叠和无规则卷曲占比分别为38.14%, 12.23%和48.55%;SfTPS的三级结构为同源二聚体。RT-qPCR结果表明,SfTPS在草地贪夜蛾卵期和1-5龄幼虫期低表达,在6龄幼虫期、蛹期和成虫期高表达,且草地贪夜蛾变态前后SfTPS的表达量变化较大。组织分布结果显示,SfTPS在5龄幼虫脂肪体中表达量最高。草地贪夜蛾5龄幼虫经2~8 h低温(10℃)和高温(35℃)胁迫后,SfTPS的相对表达量显著高于对照(25℃),分别为对照的4.43~9.34和2.50~6.03倍。【结论】SfTPS基因在草地贪夜蛾生长发育过程及抵御高低温度胁迫中可能具有重要作用。     

A gene silencing of V‐ATPase subunit A interferes with survival and development of the tomato leafminer,Tuta absoluta

RNA interference (RNAi) technology is not only considered as a tool to analyze gene function, but it is also potentially considered as a strategy to develop novel biopesticide. In the current study, a double‐stranded RNA specific to v‐ATPase subunit A of the tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick; Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), was orally administered. A gradual decrease in the expression of the gene was observed from Day 1 to 3 and resulted in significant larval mortality. These results suggest that v‐ATPases A can be considered as a promising target gene by RNAi technology to be used in the management of the tomato leafminer.     

Eighteen Coral Genomes Reveal the Evolutionary Origin of Acropora Strategies to Accommodate Environmental Changes

The genus Acropora comprises the most diverse and abundant scleractinian corals (Anthozoa, Cnidaria) in coral reefs, the most diverse marine ecosystems on Earth. However, the genetic basis for the success and wide distribution of Acropora are unknown. Here, we sequenced complete genomes of 15 Acropora species and 3 other acroporid taxa belonging to the genera Montipora and Astreopora to examine genomic novelties that explain their evolutionary success. We successfully obtained reasonable draft genomes of all 18 species. Molecular dating indicates that the Acropora ancestor survived warm periods without sea ice from the mid or late Cretaceous to the Early Eocene and that diversification of Acropora may have been enhanced by subsequent cooling periods. In general, the scleractinian gene repertoire is highly conserved; however, coral- or cnidarian-specific possible stress response genes are tandemly duplicated in Acropora. Enzymes that cleave dimethlysulfonioproprionate into dimethyl sulfide, which promotes cloud formation and combats greenhouse gasses, are the most duplicated genes in the Acropora ancestor. These may have been acquired by horizontal gene transfer from algal symbionts belonging to the family Symbiodiniaceae, or from coccolithophores, suggesting that although functions of this enzyme in Acropora are unclear, Acropora may have survived warmer marine environments in the past by enhancing cloud formation. In addition, possible antimicrobial peptides and symbiosis-related genes are under positive selection in Acropora, perhaps enabling adaptation to diverse environments. Our results suggest unique Acropora adaptations to ancient, warm marine environments and provide insights into its capacity to adjust to rising seawater temperatures.     

Morphology and molecular phylogeny of the anaerobic freshwater ciliate Urostomides spinosus nov. spec. (Ciliophora,Armophorea, Metopida) from China

The morphology and molecular phylogeny of a new metopid ciliate, Urostomides spinosus nov. spec., discovered in a freshwater ditch in Qingdao, China, were investigated using live observation, morphometry and protargol staining as well as molecular phylogenetic methods. Diagnostic features of the new species include a broadly obpyriform body carrying three posterior spines, eight somatic kineties, five preoral dome kineties with specialized row 3, adoral zone composed of about 28 membranelles, making a 270° turn around body axis. Phylogenetic analyses of the SSU rDNA sequence revealed that the genus Urostomides is monophyletic, but its interspecific relationships remained unresolved. Moreover, a closer relationship of the new species with the morphologically similar Urostomides campanula was not supported by the molecular data.     

Divergent DNA methylation contributes to duplicated gene evolution and chilling response in tea plants

The tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is a thermophilic cash crop and contains a highly duplicated and repeat-rich genome. It is still unclear how DNA methylation regulates the evolution of duplicated genes and chilling stress in tea plants. We therefore generated a single-base-resolution DNA methylation map of tea plants under chilling stress. We found that, compared with other plants, the tea plant genome is highly methylated in all three sequence contexts, including CG, CHG and CHH (where H = A, T, or C), which is further proven to be correlated with its repeat content and genome size. We show that DNA methylation in the gene body negatively regulates the gene expression of tea plants, whereas non-CG methylation in the flanking region enables a positive regulation of gene expression. We demonstrate that transposable element-mediated methylation dynamics significantly drives the expression divergence of duplicated genes in tea plants. The DNA methylation and expression divergence of duplicated genes in the tea plant increases with evolutionary age and selective pressure. Moreover, we detect thousands of differentially methylated genes, some of which are functionally associated with chilling stress. We also experimentally reveal that DNA methyltransferase genes of tea plants are significantly downregulated, whereas demethylase genes are upregulated at the initial stage of chilling stress, which is in line with the significant loss of DNA methylation of three well-known cold-responsive genes at their promoter and gene body regions. Overall, our findings underscore the importance of DNA methylation regulation and offer new insights into duplicated gene evolution and chilling tolerance in tea plants.