Regulatory Mechanism of Transcription Factor AhHsf Modulates AhHsp70 Transcriptional Expression Enhancing Heat Tolerance in Agasicles hygrophila (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)

Strategic Analysis of Collaborative Networks in Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Research for Improved Pest Management Strategies

The fall armyworm (FAW) poses a significant global threat to food security, and economics. Timely detection is crucial, and this research explores innovative techniques like data analysis, remote sensing, satellite imagery, and AI with machine learning algorithms for predicting and managing outbreaks. Emphasizing the importance of community engagement and international collaboration, social network analysis (SNA) is employed to uncover collaborative networks in FAW management research. The study analyzes a decade of research, revealing trends, influential institutions, authors, and countries, providing insights for efficient FAW management strategies. The research highlights a growing interest in Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith and Abbott 1797) research, focusing on biological control, chemical insecticides, plant extracts, and pest resistance. Co-Citation analysis identifies key research concepts, while collaboration analysis emphasizes the contributions of actors and institutions, such as China, the USA, and Brazil, with international collaboration playing a vital role. Current research trends involve evolving resistance, insecticidal protein gene discovery, and bio-control investigations. Leveraging insights from collaborative networks is essential for formulating effective strategies to manage fall armyworm and ensure global food security. This comprehensive analysis serves as a valuable resource for researchers and stakeholders, guiding efforts to combat this pervasive agricultural pest.

Molecular and functional characterization of heat-shock protein 70 in Aphis gossypii under thermal and xenobiotic stresses

Aphis gossypii, a globally distributed and economically significant pest of several crops, is known to infest a wide range of host plants. Heat shock proteins (Hsps), acting as molecular chaperones, are essential for the insect's environmental stress responses. The present study investigated the molecular characteristics and expression patterns of AgHsp70, a heat shock protein gene, in Aphis gossypii. Our phylogenetic analysis revealed that AgHsp70 shared high similarity with homologs from other insects, suggesting a conserved function across species. The developmental expression profiles of AgHsp70 in A. gossypii showed that the highest transcript levels were observed in the fourth instar nymphs, while the lowest levels were detected in the third instar nymphs. Heat stress and exposure to four different xenobiotics (2-tridecanone, tannic acid, gossypol, and flupyradifurone (4-[(2,2-difluoroethyl)amino]-2(5H)-furanone)) significantly up-regulated AgHsp70 expression. Knockdown of AgHsp70 using RNAi obviously increased the susceptibility of cotton aphids to 2-tridecanone, gossypol and flupyradifurone. Dual-luciferase reporter assays revealed that gossypol and flupyradifurone significantly enhanced the promoter activity of AgHsp70 at a concentration of 10 mg/L. Furthermore, we identified the transcription factor heat shock factor (HSF) as a regulator of AgHsp70, as silencing AgHSF reduced AgHsp70 expression. Our results shed light on the role of AgHsp70 in xenobiotic adaptation and thermo-tolerance.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Galeruca daurica Reveals Cold Tolerance Mechanisms

Galeruca daurica (Joannis) is a pest species with serious outbreaks in the Inner Mongolian grasslands in recent years, and its larvae and eggs are extremely cold-tolerant. To gain a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanism of its cold-tolerant stress response, we performed de novo transcriptome assembly of G. daurica via RNA-Seq and compared the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of first- and second-instar larvae grown and developed indoors and outdoors, respectively. The results show that cold tolerance in G. daurica is associated with changes in gene expression mainly involved in the glycolysis/gluconeogenesis pathway, the fatty acid biosynthesis pathway and the production of heat shock proteins (HSPs). Compared with the control group (indoor), the genes associated with gluconeogenesis, fatty acid biosynthesis and HSP production were up-regulated in the larvae grown and developed outdoors. While the changes in these genes were related to the physiological metabolism and growth of insects, it was hypothesized that the proteins encoded by these genes play an important role in cold tolerance in insects. In addition, we also investigated the expression of genes related to the metabolic pathway of HSPs, and the results show that the HSP-related genes were significantly up-regulated in the larvae of G. daurica grown and developed outdoors compared with the indoor control group. Finally, we chose to induce significant expression differences in the Hsp70 gene (Hsp70A1, Hsp70-2 and Hsp70-3) via RNAi to further illustrate the role of heat stress proteins in cold tolerance on G. daurica larvae. The results show that separate and mixed injections of dsHSP70A1, dsHsp70-2 and dsHsp70-3 significantly reduced expression levels of the target genes in G. daurica larvae. The super-cooling point (SCP) and the body fluid freezing point (FP) of the test larvae were determined after RNAi using the thermocouple method, and it was found that silencing the Hsp70 genes significantly increased the SCP and FP of G. daurica larvae, which validated the role of heat shock proteins in the cold resistance of G. daurica larvae. Our findings provide an important theoretical basis for further excavating the key genes and proteins in response to extremely cold environments and analyzing the molecular mechanism of cold adaptation in insects in harsh environments.

Identification and up-regulation of three small heat shock proteins in summer and winter diapause in response to temperature stress in Pieris melete

Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) are conserved proteins that play key roles in organismal adaptation to adversity stressors. However, little is known about sHSPs during summer diapause. Three sHSP genes: PmHSP19.5, PmHSP19.9, and PmHSP20.0 were identified and cloned from Pieris melete. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis revealed that the three sHSPs have a typical, conserved α-crystallin domain. PmHSP19.5 and PmHSP20.0 were both upregulated in summer diapause (SD) and winter diapause (WD), compared to non-diapause (ND) pupae. All three sHSPs were upregulated and showed similar trends in response to thermal stress. The 0 °C chilling treatment slightly affected sHSP transcripts in ND pupae, whereas both PmHSP19.5 and PmHSP19.9 were upregulated and PmHSP20.0 was downregulated after chilling at 0 °C for 24-96 h in both SD and WD pupae. The transcripts of PmHSP19.5 and PmHSP19.9 were significantly induced at 31 °C for 30 d in SD and WD pupae. The PmHSP20.0 transcript gradually decreased during the SD and WD programs. This is the first time that sHSPs have been linked to both overwintering and summer diapause processes. These findings suggest that sHSPs are involved in both summer and winter diapause maintenance and play a possible key role in temperature stress.