Molecular cloning and characterization of TRPVs in two rice pests: Nilaparvata lugens (Stål) and Nephotettix cincticeps (Uhler).

BACKGROUD: The insect transient receptor potential vanilloid (TRPV) is a subfamily of TRP ion channels, including two genes, nanchung and inactive. It is recently found that two commercial insecticides, pymetrozine and pyrifluquinazon, target the heteromeric TRPV ion channel complex which is specifically expressed in the chordotonal organ neurons in Drosophila. However, information of the TRPV genes in agricultural insects is still limited.

RESULTS: In this study, we cloned and characterized two TRPV genes (named NlNan, NlIav, NcNan and NcIav) from Nilaparvata lugens and Nephotettix cincticeps, two serious rice pests throughout Asia. The deduced amino acid sequences share highly identity with other insect homologues (58%-85%) and have the characteristic TRPV domain architecture: five ankyrin repeats and six transmembrane domains. These TRPV transcripts were expressed in all developmental stages and the expression levels in male adults were significantly higher than that in female adults. Moreover, the expression levels in antennae were much higher than that in heads and legs.

CONCLUSION: NlNan, NlIav, NcNan and NcIav may play roles in male-specific behaviors and the sequence information lay the foundations for further study on the structural and functional characterization of TRPVs in agricultural pests. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.