Transcriptomic Characterization of Phototransduction Genes of the Asian Citrus Psyllid Diaphorina citri Kuwayama

Opsin plays a regulatory role in phototaxis of Diaphorina citri, functioning as the initial station in the phototransduction cascade. Our study aimed to explore the D. citri phototransduction pathway to identify elicitors that may enhance D. citri phototaxis in the future. The RNAi technique was employed to inhibit LW-opsin gene expression, followed by RNA-Seq analysis to identify phototransduction genes. Finally, RT-qPCR was performed to validate whether genes in the phototransduction pathway were affected by the inhibition of LW-opsin expression. A total of 87 genes were identified within the transcriptome as involved in phototransduction based on KEGG functional annotation. Of these, 71 genes were identified as enriched in the phototransduction-fly pathway. These genes encode key proteins in this process, including Gqα, Gqβ, Gqγ, phospholipase C β (PLCβ), the cation channel transient receptor potential (TRP), and TRP-like (TRPL), among others. Moreover, the LOC103513214 (Gqβ) and LOC103518375 (ninaC) genes exhibited reduced expression when LW-opsin gene expression was suppressed. Our results provide a basis for further investigation of phototransduction in D. citri.