Abstract
The intersex (ix) gene acts in concert with doublesex (dsx) at the end of the sex determination hierarchy to control somatic sexual differentiation in Drosophila melanogaster. Here, we report the Drosophila ix homolog in Bemisia tabaci (Btix) with differential splicing events. Four isoforms were found in B. tabaci adults, including two sex-specific transcripts (BtixF and BtixM). Knockdown of Btix had no measurable effects on female morphological phenotypes but reduced the expression of the vitellogenin gene and resulted in the production of significantly fewer eggs, a lower eclosion rate, and a shorter body size of female progeny in comparison with control females. These results increase our understanding of the genes underlying sex determination in B. tabaci and reveal a potential target for RNA interference-based pest management.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 55 |
Journal | Frontiers in Physiology |
Volume | 11 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 25 2020 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Funding. This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31420103919, 31871970, and 31672032), the Beijing Nova Program (Z171100001117039), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M641559), the China’s Agricultural Research System (CARS-24-C-02), the Science and Technology Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-ASTIP-IVFCAAS), and the Beijing Key Laboratory for Pest Control and Sustainable Cultivation of Vegetables.
Funding Information:
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31420103919, 31871970, and 31672032), the Beijing Nova Program (Z171100001117039), the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (2018M641559), the China’s Agricultural Research System (CARS-24-C-02), the Science and Technology Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS-ASTIP-IVFCAAS), and the Beijing Key Laboratory for Pest Control and Sustainable Cultivation of Vegetables.
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2020 Liu, Yang, Huo, Wang, Wu, Zhou, Xie and Zhang.
Keywords
- Bemisia tabaci
- RNA interference
- intersex
- pest control
- sex determination
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Physiology
- Physiology (medical)