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Identification of the Key Pathways and Genes Involved in the Wax Biosynthesis of the Chinese White Wax Scale Insect ( Ericerus pela Chavannes) by Integrated Weighted Gene Coexpression Network Analysis. Genes (Basel) 2022; 13:genes13081364. [PMID: 36011275 PMCID: PMC9407328 DOI: 10.3390/genes13081364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 07/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The white wax secreted by the male insects of the Chinese white wax scale (CWWS) is a natural high-molecular-weight compound with important economic value. However, its regulatory mechanism of wax biosynthesis is still unclear. In this study, a weighted gene coexpression network analysis (WGCNA) was used to analyze transcriptome data of first- and second-instar females, early and late female adults, and first- and second-instar males. A total of 19 partitioned modules with different topological overlaps were obtained, and three modules were identified as highly significant for wax secretion (p < 0.05). A total of 30 hub genes were obtained through screening, among which elongation of very-long-chain fatty acids protein (ELOVL) and fatty acyl-CoA reductase (FAR) are important catalytic enzymes of fatty acid metabolism. Furthermore, their metabolic catalytic products are involved in the synthesis of wax biosynthesis. The results demonstrate that WGCNA can be used for insect transcriptome analysis and effectively screen out the key genes related to wax biosynthesis.
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Chen H, Lu Q, Chen X, Ling X, Liu P, Liu N, Wang W, Zhang J, Qi Q, Ding W, Zhang X, Feng Y, Zhang Y, Chen MS, King-Jones K. Genome assembly and methylome analysis of the white wax scale insect provides insight into sexual differentiation of metamorphosis in hexapods. Mol Ecol Resour 2021; 21:1983-1995. [PMID: 33709555 DOI: 10.1111/1755-0998.13376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2020] [Revised: 02/22/2021] [Accepted: 03/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Scale insects are hemimetabolous, showing "incomplete" metamorphosis and no true pupal stage. Ericerus pela, commonly known as the white wax scale insect (hereafter, WWS), is a wax-producing insect found in Asia and Europe. WWS displays dramatic sexual dimorphism, with notably different metamorphic fates in males and females. Males develop into winged adults, while females are neotenic and maintain a nymph-like appearance, which are flightless and remain stationary. Here, we report the de novo assembly of the WWS genome with a size of 638.30 Mbp (69.68 Mbp for scaffold N50) by PacBio sequencing and Hi-C. These data allowed us to perform a robust phylogenetic analysis comprising 24,923 gene orthogroups from 16 representative insect genomes. This analysis indicated that holometabola evolved from insects with incomplete metamorphosis in the Late Carboniferous, about 50 million years earlier than previously thought. To study the distinct developmental fates of males and females, we analysed the methylome landscape in either sex. Surprisingly, WWS displayed high methylation levels (4.42% for males) when compared to other insects. We observed differential methylation patterns in males and females for genes involved in steroid and sesquiterpenoid production as well as genes acting in fatty acid metabolism pathways. We measured titre profiles for ecdysone, the principal insect steroid hormone, and juvenile hormone (a sesquiterpenoid) in both males and females, which suggested that these hormones are the primary drivers of sexually dimorphic development. Our results provide a comprehensive genomic and epigenomic resource of scale insects that provide new insights into the evolution of metamorphosis and sexual dimorphism in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hang Chen
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China.,The Key Laboratory of Cultivating and Utilization of Resources Insects, State Forestry Administration, Kunming, China
| | - Qin Lu
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Xiaoming Chen
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China.,The Key Laboratory of Cultivating and Utilization of Resources Insects, State Forestry Administration, Kunming, China
| | - Xiaofei Ling
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Pengfei Liu
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Ni Liu
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Weiwei Wang
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Jinwen Zhang
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Qian Qi
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Weifeng Ding
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Xin Zhang
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | - Ying Feng
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, China
| | | | - Ming-Shun Chen
- Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Kirst King-Jones
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada
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Wei H, Billen J, Yang Y, Liu P, Shao S, Chen X, Yang Z. Wax glands of the horned gall aphid, Schlechtendalia chinensis, at different stages. ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT 2020; 58:100976. [PMID: 32791436 DOI: 10.1016/j.asd.2020.100976] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Revised: 07/17/2020] [Accepted: 07/21/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
The horned gall aphid, Schlechtendalia chinensis, inhabits the productive species of Chinese gallnuts, which have economic value. Aphid wax glands are crucial for the survival of the insects, since the secreted waterproofing wax is important to protect the aphids from predators, pathogens and honeydew contamination. In this study, we investigated the structure of wax glands and their role in different aphid stages using light and electron microscopy. Our results show that aphids of all stages except the newly hatched fundatrix possess six parallel dorsal lines and have a total of 56 wax gland plates. Although no wax glands occur on the dorsum of the newly hatched fundatrix (first instar), the glands do appear once a fundatrix enters the second instar. The wax gland plate is composed of 2-22 polygonal depressions, each of which corresponds to a secretory cell covered by cuticle. The wax glands of this aphid belong to the class 1 glands, which are formed by epidermal secretory cells. The structure of the wax glands varies in the different stages and these changes may be adaptive to the changeable microenvironments in which the aphids live.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongyuan Wei
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, 650224, China; Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China
| | - Johan Billen
- Zoological Institute, KU Leuven, B-3000, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Ying Yang
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, 650224, China
| | - Ping Liu
- Yunnan Forestry Technological College, Kunming, 650224, China
| | - Shuxia Shao
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, 650224, China
| | - Xiaoming Chen
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, 650224, China
| | - Zixiang Yang
- Research Institute of Resource Insects, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Kunming, 650224, China.
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