Expression Analysis Reveals the Association of Several Genes with Pupal Diapause in Bactrocera minax (Diptera: Tephritidae)

Abstract

The Chinese citrus fly, Bactrocera minax, is a devastating pest of citrus, which enters the obligatory diapause in overwintering pupae to resist harsh environmental conditions. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms underlying pupal diapause. The previous transcriptomic analysis revealed that a large number of genes were regulated throughout the pupal stage. Of these genes, 12 and six ones that are remarkably up- and downregulated, respectively, specifically in intense diapause were manually screened out in present study. To validate the expression of these genes throughout the pupal stage, the quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) was conducted, and the genes displaying different expression patterns with those of previous study were excluded. Then, the expressions of remaining genes were compared between diapause-destined and non-diapause-destined pupae to reveal their association with diapause using qRT-PCR and semiquantitative PCR. Finally, five genes, TTLL3B, Cyp6a9, MSTA, Fru, and UC2, and two genes, KSPI and LYZ1, were demonstrated to be positively and negatively associated with diapause, respectively. These findings provide a solid foundation for the further investigation of molecular mechanisms underlying B. minax pupal diapause.