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Updated: Sep 22, 2025
Embryo Microinjection and Knockout Mutant Identification of CRISPR/Cas9 Genome-Edited Helicoverpa Armigera Hübner
Published on: July 1, 2021
MicroRNAs miR-14 and miR-2766 regulate tyrosine hydroxylase to control larval-pupal metamorphosis in Helicoverpa
Zhong-Jian Shen1, Fang Zhu2, Yan-Jun Liu1
1Department of Entomology, MOA Key Laboratory of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, College of Plant Protection, China Agricultural University, Haidian, Beijing, China.
Background:
The cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, is a worldwide polyphagous pest, causing huge economic losses in vegetable, cotton and corn crops, among others. Owing to long-term exposure to Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins, evolution of resistance has been detected in this pest. As a conservative and effective neurotransmitter, dopamine (DA) has an important role in insect growth and development. In this study, we investigated the regulatory functions of DA and its associated non-coding RNA in metamorphosis in H. armigera.
Results:
Expression profiles indicated that DA and DA pathway genes were highly expressed during larval-pupal metamorphosis in H. armigera. RNA interference and pharmacological experiments confirmed that tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), dopa decarboxylase, vesicular amine transporter and DA receptor 2 are critical genes related to the development of H. armigera from larvae to pupae. We also found that miR-14 and miR-2766 targeted the 3' untranslated region to post-transcriptionally regulate HaTH function. Application of miR-2766 and miR-14 antagomirs significantly increased levels of HaTH transcripts and proteins, while injection of miR-2766 and miR-14 agomirs not only suppressed messenger RNA and protein levels of HaTH, but also resulted in defective pupation in H. armigera.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that DA deficiency inhibits larval-pupal metamorphosis in H. armigera. Potentially, DA pathway genes and their microRNAs could be used as a novel target for H. armigera management. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.
