Phenotypic and Differential Gene Expression Analyses of Phase Transition in Oedaleus asiaticus under High-Density Population Stress

Na Guo; Hongyue Ma; Haibin Han; Feng Yan; Haiyan Gao; Yuanyuan Zhang; Shujing Gao

doi:10.3390/insects13111034

Phenotypic and Differential Gene Expression Analyses of Phase Transition in Oedaleus asiaticus under High-Density Population Stress

Insects. 2022 Nov 8;13(11):1034. doi: 10.3390/insects13111034.

Authors

Na Guo¹, Hongyue Ma², Haibin Han¹, Feng Yan³, Haiyan Gao¹, Yuanyuan Zhang¹, Shujing Gao¹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Grassland Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Hohhot 010010, China.
² Inner Mongolia University for Nationalities, Tongliao 028000, China.
³ Forest Pest Management and Quarantine Station of Ordos, Ordos 017010, China.

Abstract

The high-density-dependent phase change from solitary to gregarious individuals in locusts is a typical example of phenotypic plasticity. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is not clear. In this study, first, Oedaleus asiaticus were treated with high-density population stress and then analyzed by Illumina sequencing on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 of the body color change to identify the stage-specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of the identified DEGs revealed their role in metabolic pathways. Furthermore, the expression patterns of the nine key DEGs were studied in detail; this showed that the material change in locusts began on the third day of the high-density treatment, with the number of DEGs being the largest, indicating the importance of this period in the phase transition. In addition, the phenotypic change involved several key genes of important regulatory pathways, possibly working in a complex network. Phenotypic plasticity in locusts is multifactorial, involving multilevel material network interactions. This study improves the mechanistic understanding of phenotypic variation in insects at the genetic level.

Keywords: Oedaleus asiaticus; high-density population; phenotypic plasticity; transcriptomics.

Grants and funding

This study was supported by Inner Mongolia Natural Science Foundation (No. 2021MS03021); Central Public-interest Scientific Institution Basal Research Fund (No. 1610332020008); National Science & Technology Fundamental Resources Investigation Program of China (Grant No. 2019FY100400).