Analysis of the glutathione S-transferase (GST) gene expression in an insecticide-resistant strain of Cydia pomonella using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction is a key step toward more mechanism studies that require suitable reference genes with stable expression. Here, nine commonly used reference genes were selected, and their expression stabilities were analyzed. Results showed that EF-1α was the most stable reference gene in all of the experimental sets. The combinations of EF-1α and 18S, EF-1α and RPL12, and EF-1α and GAPDH were sufficient for normalization of gene expression analysis accurately in developmental stages, tissues, and larvae exposed to sublethal dose of λ-cyhalothrin, respectively. Additionally, the suitability of particular reference genes was verified by analyzing the spatiotemporal and insecticide-induced expression profiles of CpGSTe3, CpGSTd3, and CpGSTd4, which were overexpressed in a λ-cyhalothrin-resistant population from northeast China. These genes were used to confer the practicability of reference genes chosen in this study.
Keywords: Cydia pomonella; RT-qPCR; gene expression; glutathione S-transferase; reference gene.