Molecular characterization and expression profiles of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in Bradysia odoriphaga

Tisheng Shan; Chengyu Chen; Qian Ding; Xuewei Chen; Huihui Zhang; Anqi Chen; Xueyan Shi; Xiwu Gao

doi:10.1016/j.pestbp.2020.104563

Molecular characterization and expression profiles of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors in Bradysia odoriphaga

Pestic Biochem Physiol. 2020 May:165:104563. doi: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2020.104563. Epub 2020 Mar 6.

Authors

Tisheng Shan¹, Chengyu Chen¹, Qian Ding¹, Xuewei Chen¹, Huihui Zhang¹, Anqi Chen¹, Xueyan Shi², Xiwu Gao¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.
² Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China.. Electronic address: shixueyan@cau.edu.cn.

PMID: 32359542
DOI: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2020.104563

Abstract

Bradysia odoriphaga is a destructive insect pest, damaging more than 30 crop species. Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) mediating fast excitatory transmission in the central nervous system in insects are the molecular targets of some economically important insecticides including imidacloprid, which has been widely used to control B. odoriphaga in China since 2013. However, the clear characterization about nAChRs in B. odoriphaga is still unknown. Hence, our objective is to identify and characterize the nAChR gene family in B. odoriphaga based on the transcriptome database and sequence, phylogenetic and expression profiles analysis. In this study, we cloned seven nAChR subunit genes from B. odoriphaga, including Boα1, Boα2, Boα3, Boα7, Boα8, Boβ1 and Boβ3. Sequence analysis revealed that the seven nAChR subunits of B. odoriphaga shared the typical structural features with Drosophila melanogaster nAChR α1 subunit, including an extracellular N-terminal domain containing six functional loops (loop A-F), a signature Cys-loop with two disulfide bond-forming cysteines separated by 13 amino acid residues, and four typical transmembrane helices (TM1-TM4) in the C-terminal region. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that seven nAChR subunit genes in B. odoriphaga are evolutionarily conserved among four model insects, including D. melanogaster, Bombyx mori, Apis mellifera and Tribolium castaneum. Meanwhile, nAChR α4, α5, α6 and β2 subunit genes may potentially exist in B. odoriphaga, which need further study. Furthermore, quantitative real-time PCR analysis revealed the specific expression pattern of nAChR subunits in three body parts including head, thorax and abdomen, and developmental expression pattern of nAChR subunits throughout the B. odoriphaga life cycle. These results provided necessary information for further investigating the diverse functions of nAChRs in B. odoriphaga.

Keywords: Bradysia odoriphaga; Expression profiles; Molecular characterization; Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

MeSH terms

Amino Acid Sequence
Animals
Bees
China
Drosophila melanogaster*
Phylogeny
Receptors, Nicotinic*

Substances

Receptors, Nicotinic