High diversity of digestive proteases is considered to be the key factor in the evolution of polyphagy in Helicoverpa armigera. Serine proteases (SPs) contribute ~85% of the dietary protein digestion in H. armigera. We investigated the dynamics of SP regulation in the polyphagous pest, H. armigera using RNA interference (RNAi). HaTry1, an isoform of SP, expressed irrespective of the composition of the diet, and its expression levels were directly proportional to the larval growth rate. Therefore, HaTry1 was silenced by delivering 10 and 20 μg concentrations of double-stranded RNA through semi-synthetic diet. This led to a drastic reduction in the target gene transcript levels that manifested in a significant reduction in the larval weight initially, but the larvae recovered in later stages despite continuous dsRNA treatment. This was probably due to the compensatory effect by over-expression of HaTry13 (31-folds), another isoform of SP. Phylogenetic analysis of H. armigera SPs revealed that the over-expressed isoform was closely related to the target gene as compared to the other tested isoforms. Further, silencing of both the isoforms (HaTry1 and HaTry13) caused the highest reduction in the larval weight and there was no larval growth recovery. These findings provide a new evidence of the existence of compensatory effect to overcome the effect of silencing individual gene with RNAi. Hence, the study emphasizes the need for simultaneous silencing of multiple isoforms.
Keywords: Double-stranded RNA; Helicoverpa armigera; Insect bioassay; RNA interference; RT-qPCR; Serine protease.