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Published on: December 18, 2013
Conditionally essential: A testis-enriched heat shock protein from fall armyworm safeguards fertility and survival
Yuchen Zhao1, Pei Wang1, Rujing Xie1
1Key Laboratory of Plant Protection Resources and Pest Management of the Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on the Loess Plateau of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Plant Protection, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, China.
Background:
Extreme high temperatures significantly threaten insect development and reproduction. Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are crucial for thermal adaptation, but their specific roles in reproduction and heat stress response remain incompletely understood. This study investigates SfHSP19.8, a testis-enriched sHSP in the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), to elucidate its function.
Results:
Testis-specific expression of SfHSP19.8 occurred during the 6th- instar larval and pupal stages. Homozygous knockout mutants were generated using CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Transcriptomic analysis of 6th-instar larval testes revealed dysregulation of genes in steroid hormone biosynthesis and detoxification pathways. However, knockout did not impair adult male fertility, testis morphology or sperm count under standard conditions. SfHSP19.8 expression was strongly induced by heat shock across developmental stages. Mutants exhibited severely compromised thermotolerance under heat stress, including complete egg hatching failure, high larval mortality, prolonged larval development, and reduced adult longevity and reproductive fitness.
Conclusion:
These findings demonstrate that SfHSP19.8 is essential for systemic thermotolerance across life stages and maintains reproductive function specifically under thermal challenge, while being dispensable for basal male reproduction under optimal conditions. SfHSP19.8 represents a potential target for pest control strategies in the context of future climate warming. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.
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