Journal
INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
Volume 29, Issue 6, Pages 555-568Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1111/imb.12665
Keywords
Fatty acid synthase; cuticular hydrocarbon; cuticle permeability; RNA interference; Locusta migratoria
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Funding
- NSFC-DFG [31761133021]
- National Natural Science Foundation of China [31730074, 31970469, 31702067]
- Program for Top Young Academic Leaders of Higher Learning Institutions ofShanxi (TYAL) 2017
- Scientific and Technological Innovation Programs of Higher Education Institutions in Shanxi [2019L0033]
- Key Research and Development Program of Shanxi Province [201803D221004-5]
- German Research Foundation (DFG) [MO1714/9-1]
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Lipids of the insect cuticle have important roles in resistance against the arid environment and invasion of foreign substances. Fatty acid synthase (FAS) is an important enzyme of the insect lipid synthesis pathway. In the present study, we identified threeFASgenes from transcriptome data of the migratory locust,Locusta migratoria, based on bioinformatics analyses. Among them, twoFASgenes (LmFAS1andLmFAS3) are highly expressed in the integument of fifth instar nymphs. Suppression ofLmFAS1andLmFAS3by RNA interference caused lethality during ecdysis or shortly after moulting. The weight of the locusts and the content of lipid droplets were reduced compared with those of the control. The results of gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis showed that knockdown ofLmFAS3led to a decrease of both cuticular hydrocarbons and inner hydrocarbons (CHCs and IHCs) contents, especially the content of methyl branched hydrocarbons. By contrast, knockdown ofLmFAS1only resulted in a decrease in the IHC content, but not that of CHCs. By consequence, inLmFAS1-andLmFAS3-suppressed locusts, hydrocarbon deficiency reduced desiccation resistance and enhanced cuticle permeability and sensitivity to insecticides. These results indicate that LmFAS1 and LmFAS3 are essential for hydrocarbon production and cuticle permeability, which play influential roles in waterproofing the insect cuticle.
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