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Updated: Aug 6, 2026
Larval RNA Interference in the Red Flour Beetle, Tribolium castaneum
Published on: October 13, 2014
A tapeworm molecule manipulates vitellogenin expression in the beetle Tenebrio molitor
E Warr1, J M Meredith, D D Nimmo
1Centre for Applied Entomology and Parasitology, Institute for Science and Technology in Medicine, School of Life Sciences, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK.
Abstract:
Metacestodes of Hymenolepis diminuta secrete a molecule that decreases vitellogenin (Vg) synthesis in the beetle host, Tenebrio molitor. The 5608 bp T. molitor Vg cDNA represents a single-copy gene encoding a single open reading frame of 1821 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 206 kDa. Northern blot analysis revealed detectable levels of transcripts only in adult females. In vivo, Vg mRNA abundance was significantly higher in fat bodies from infected females compared with control females at all but the earliest time point. In vitro, Vg mRNA abundance was significantly increased in fat bodies incubated with live stage I-II parasites. The apparent conflict between increased Vg mRNA abundance and decreased Vg protein in fat bodies from infected females is discussed.
