Identification of nuclear receptors involved in regulation of male reproduction in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum

Jingjing Xu, Chandrasekar Raman, Fang Zhu, Anjiang Tan, Subba R. Palli

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

17 Scopus citations

Abstract

Nineteen canonical and two Knirps-like family nuclear receptors (NRs) were identified in the genome of . Tribolium castaneum. The current study was conducted to identify NRs involved in regulation of male reproduction. RNA interference (RNAi)-aided knockdown in the expression of genes coding for all 21 NRs showed that reduction in the levels of 11 NRs (E75, E78, FTZ-F1, HR38, HR4, Knirps-like, HNF4, Tailless, HR51, Dsf and HR39) in the male beetles caused more than 50% reduction in the eggs laid by the female beetles mated with RNAi male beetles. Among these 11 NRs that are required for male reproduction, knockdown in the expression of genes coding for E78 and HR39 in the male beetles resulted in a reduction in the number of sperm produced and transferred to the female when compared to the sperms produced and transferred by the control male beetles injected with bacterial . malE dsRNA. In contrast, knockdown in the expression of genes coding for E75 and HR38 caused a reduction in the size of male accessory glands (MAG), the amount of protein produced by the MAG and the expression of genes coding for accessory gland proteins. These data suggest that NRs such as E78 and HR39 regulate sperm production and their transfer to the females and the other NRs such as E75 and HR38 regulate the development of MAG and the production of accessory gland proteins.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)710-717
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Insect Physiology
Volume58
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - May 2012

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by the National Science Foundation ( IBN-0421856 ). This is contribution (# 12-08-030) from the Kentucky Agricultural Experimental Station.

Keywords

  • Male accessory gland proteins
  • RNAi
  • Seminal fluid proteins
  • Sperm production

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Physiology
  • Insect Science

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