MiRNA pathway is involved in the regulation of aestivation in the cabbage stem flea beetle

Monday, November 11, 2024

9:24 AM – 9:36 AM MST

Location: Phoenix Convention Center, 124 AB, PCC

Presenting Author(s)

GG

Gözde Güney

Georg-August-University
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany

Co-Author(s)

Doga Cedden

PhD student
University of Göttingen
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
KS

Kerstin Schmitt

Georg-August-University
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
OV

Oliver Valerius

Georg-August-University
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
JZ

Johan Zicola

Georg-August-University
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
MR

Michael Rostás

Georg-August-University
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany
SS

Stefan Scholten

Georg-August-University
Göttingen, Niedersachsen, Germany

The cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB, Psylliodes chrysocephala) is a major pest of winter oilseed rape. CSFB adults obligatorily aestivate (summer diapause) during late summer. Aestivation in CSFB is characterized by many physiological changes, including metabolic suppression, and is associated with drastic alterations at the transcriptional level. The micro RNA (miRNA) pathway is a post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism involved in key biological phenomena such as development. In this study, we hypothesized that the miRNA pathway is involved in fine-tuning the CSFB transcriptome for aestivation. The small RNA sequencing results showed that around 20% of miRNAs are differentially expressed in aestivation compared to non-aestivating stages. Furthermore, feeding activity, energy storage, and heat tolerance mechanisms are disrupted in miRNA pathway-compromised CSFB. Lastly, we performed RNA degradomics and proteomics to characterize the mechanism of the miRNA pathway in aestivating CSFB. The findings provide key insights into the regulation of aestivation via the miRNA pathway.