SfDicer2 RNA Interference Inhibits Molting and Wing Expansion in Sogatella furcifera

Endoribonuclease 2 (Dicer2) is a key nicking endonuclease involved in the small interfering RNA biosynthesis, and it plays important roles in gene regulation and antiviral immunity. The Dicer2 sequence was obtained using the transcriptomic and genomic information of Sogatella furcifera (Horváth), and the spatiotemporal characteristics and functions of molting and wing expansion regulation were studied using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and RNA interference (RNAi) technology. The expression of SfDicer2 fluctuated during the nymphal stage of S. furcifera. Its expression decreased significantly over the course of molting. SfDicer2 exhibited the highest transcript level in the nymphal stage and adult fat body. After SfDicer2 was silenced, the total mortality rate was 42.69%; 18.32% of the insects died because of their inability to molt. Compared with the effects of dsGFP or water, 44.38% of the insects subjected to the silencing of SfDicer2 exhibited wing deformities after successful eclosion. After SfDicer2 RNAi, the expression of chitinase, chitin deacetylase, trehalase, chitin synthase 1, and wing expansion-related genes was significantly inhibited. These findings indicate that SfDicer2 controls molting by affecting genes associated with chitin synthesis and degradation and regulates wing expansion by altering the expression of wing expansion-related genes in S. furcifera.