Structural and functional insights into the Diabrotica virgifera virgifera ATP-binding cassette transporter gene family

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundThe western corn rootworm,Diabrotica virgifera virgifera, is a pervasive pest of maize in North America and Europe, which has adapted to current pest management strategies. In advance of an assembled and annotatedD. v. virgiferagenome, we developed transcriptomic resources to use in identifying candidate genes likely to be involved in the evolution of resistance, starting with members of the ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter family.ResultsIn this study, 65 putativeD. v. virgiferaABC (DvvABC) transporters were identified within a combined transcriptome assembly generated from embryonic, larval, adult male, and adult female RNA-sequence libraries. Phylogenetic analysis placed the deduced amino-acid sequences of theDvvABC transporters into eight subfamilies (A to H). To supplement our sequence data with functional analysis, we identified orthologs ofTribolium castaneumABC genes which had previously been shown to exhibit overt RNA interference (RNAi) phenotypes. We identified eight suchD. v. virgiferagenes, and found that they were functionally similar to theirT. castaneumcounterparts. Interestingly, depletion ofDvvABCB_39715andDvvABCG_3712transcripts in adult females produced detrimental reproductive and developmental phenotypes, demonstrating the potential of these genes as targets for RNAi-mediated insect control tactics.ConclusionsBy combining sequence data from four libraries covering three distinct life stages, we have produced a relatively comprehensive de novo transcriptome assembly forD. v. virgifera. Moreover, we have identified 65 members of the ABC transporter family and provided the first insights into the developmental and physiological roles of ABC transporters in this pest species.