Project description:miRNAs play important roles in various biological processes through post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression. We previously identified 203 mature miRNAs in Diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. This species has developed extremely high levels of resistance to chlorantraniliprole and other class of insecticides in the field. In this study, we examined the miRNA profile of P. xylostella in response to chlorantraniliprole exposure. The smRNA-seq data analyses showed that insecticide treatment caused significant changes in the abundance of some miRNAs. Increasing exposure time (6h to 24h) and insecticide concentration (0.01 to 0.1 ppm) induced more dysregulated miRNAs in DBM larvae.
Project description:Arabidopsis thaliana plants (ecotype Landsberg erecta) were grown at 20˚C constant temperature, 8 hr/16 hr Light/Dark photoperiod at 50-60% ambient humidity, for 8 to 9 weeks. Short day conditions prevented the onset of flowering and the plants were thus maintained in growth stage 1 (leaf production) with 13 to 15 rosette leaves larger than 1mm (stage 1.13 to 1.14). Diamondback moth (DBM, Plutella xylostella) larvae were maintained on cabbage (Brassica oleracea) plants in a climate-controlled room at 25ºC, 12 hr photoperiod with 50%-60% relative humidity. Two days before exposing A. thaliana plants to herbivore treatment, plants were transferred to a climate-controlled room (22ºC, 50-60% humidity, 12 hr photoperiod). For insect treatment, seven Diamondback moth (DBM, Plutella xylostella) larvae (third to fifth instars) were placed on a group of four or five plants until time of harvest, for each time point separately. All rosette leaves were harvested at 1h, 4h, 12h, and 24h after onset of continuous herbivory and flash frozen in liquid nitrogen. Control plants were maintained under the same conditions and harvested in parallel. Keywords: time course, stress response, herbivory response
Project description:Arabidopsis thaliana plants (ecotype Landsberg erecta) were grown at 20ËC constant temperature, 8 hr/16 hr Light/Dark photoperiod at 50-60% ambient humidity, for 8 to 9 weeks. Short day conditions prevented the onset of flowering and the plants were thus maintained in growth stage 1 (leaf production) with 13 to 15 rosette leaves larger than 1mm (stage 1.13 to 1.14). Diamondback moth (DBM, Plutella xylostella) larvae were maintained on cabbage (Brassica oleracea) plants in a climate-controlled room at 25ºC, 12 hr photoperiod with 50%-60% relative humidity. Two days before exposing A. thaliana plants to herbivore treatment, plants were transferred to a climate-controlled room (22ºC, 50-60% humidity, 12 hr photoperiod). For insect treatment, seven Diamondback moth (DBM, Plutella xylostella) larvae (third to fifth instars) were placed on a group of four or five plants until time of harvest, for each time point separately. All rosette leaves were harvested at 1h, 4h, 12h, and 24h after onset of continuous herbivory and flash frozen in liquid nitrogen. Control plants were maintained under the same conditions and harvested in parallel. Keywords: time course, stress response, herbivory response For each time point (1h, 4h, 12h, and 24h) two biological replicates (DBM treatment) were performed. Control plants were harvested in parallel. Total RNA from each sample was used for two labelling reactions using dye-flips (Cy5 or Cy3) and labelled cDNA from treatment and control plants were co-hybridized. Thus, for each time-point four replicates were analyzed each comparing treatment with the corresponding control (rep1 and rep2 are dye-flips of biological replicate 1, and rep3 and rep4 are dye-flips of biological replicate 2). For background correction, we defined the mean of the lowest 10% of spot intensities from a particular subgrid as the background for that subgrid. This mean was subtracted from each spot in the subgrid. Signal intensities that did not exceed the background plus 3 standard deviations thereof were defined as not detectable and were excluded from further analyses. We normalized using loess curves thus generating log2 transformed expression ratios comparing DBM treatment with control. These ratios are given in the VALUE columns of each array.
Project description:UV-B radiation regulates numerous morphogenic, biochemical and physiological responses in plants, and can stimulate some responses typically associated with other abiotic and biotic stimuli, including invertebrate herbivory. Removal of UV-B from the growing environment of various plant species has been found to increase their susceptibility to consumption by invertebrate pests, however, to date, little research has been conducted to investigate the effects of UV-B on crop susceptibility to field pests. Here, we report findings from a multi-omic and genetic-based study investigating the mechanisms of UV-B-stimulated resistance of the crop, Brassica napus (oilseed rape), to herbivory from an economically important lepidopteran specialist of the Brassicaceae, Plutella xylostella (diamondback moth). The UV-B photoreceptor, UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 (UVR8), was not found to mediate resistance to this pest. RNA-Seq and untargeted metabolomics identified components of the sinapate/lignin biosynthetic pathway that were similarly regulated by UV-B and herbivory. Arabidopsis mutants in genes encoding two enzymes in the sinapate/lignin biosynthetic pathway, CAFFEATE O-METHYLTRANSFERASE 1 (COMT1) and ELICITOR-ACTIVATED GENE 3-2 (ELI3-2), retained UV-B-mediated resistance to P. xylostella herbivory. However, overexpression of B. napus COMT1 in Arabidopsis further reduced plant susceptibility to P. xylostella herbivory in a UV-B-dependent manner. These findings demonstrate that overexpression of a component of the sinapate/lignin biosynthetic pathway in a member of the Brassicaceae can enhance UV-B-stimulated resistance to herbivory from P. xylostella.
Project description:In insects, male accessory gland proteins (ACPs) are important reproductive proteins secreted by male accessory glands (MAGs) of the internal male reproductive system. During mating, ACPs were transferred along with sperms inside female bodies and have a significant impact on the physiology of female reproduction. Under sexual selection pressures, the ACPs exhibit remarkably rapid and divergent evolution and varies from species to species. The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is a major insect pest of cruciferous vegetables worldwide. The reproductive physiology on post-mating state of this species is still largely unknown, which is important for management of this pest. In this study, the ACPs transferred into females during mating were identified by using a tandem mass tags quantitative proteomic analysis. The MAGs were compared before and after mating immediately. In total, we identified 123 putative secreted ACPs, including most important physiological: regulators of proteolysis, transporters and protein export machinery, signal transduction and immunity. Comparing P. xylostella with other four insect ACPs, trypsins were the only ACPs detected in all insect species. This was the first time to identify and analyze ACPs in P. xylostella. Our results have provided an important list of putative secreted ACPs, and have set the stage for further explore functions of these putative proteins in P. xylostella reproduction.
Project description:We used our newly ultra deep sequence data and bioinformatics to re-annotate P. xylostella genome for high confidence miRNAs with the correct 5p and 3p arm features. Furthermore, the whole genome was screened to identify potential miRNA binding sites using three target-predicting algorithms. Totally, 203 mature miRNAs were annotated, including 33 novel miRNAs. Two geographical populations of Diamondback moth larvae from Queensland (Gatton) and South Australia (Waite) were collected and reared on the cabbage plant at the University of Queensland in Australia. Total RNA was extracted from fifteen 3rd instar larval samples using Triazol® following the manufacturerâs protocol (Life Technologies). The small RNA libraries were generated from both populations with three biological replicates using the Illumina Truseq small RNA preparation kit at the Australian Genome Research Facility (AGRF-Melbourne, Australia). The purified cDNA libraries were sequenced on Illumina HiSeq and raw sequencing reads (50 nt) were obtained using Illuminaâs Sequencing Control Studio software.
Project description:We investigate the functional complexity of the Plutella xylostella transcriptome in defending against a Bt toxin using Illumina sequencing technology. Over 2,900 differentially expressed unigenes were obtained in resistant P. xylostella comparison to their susceptible counterpart.