title: The involvement of heat shock protein and cytochrome P450 genes in response to UV-A exposure in the beetle Tribolium castaneum.
abstract: Sunlight is an important environmental factor that affects all living organisms on Earth. Ultraviolet A (UV-A) is one of the many frequency bands found in sunlight. Many animals use UV-A to attain visual cues, for example, in foraging and mate selection. However, UV-A can also induce damage, such as oxidative stress, DNA lesions and apoptosis. In the present study, we investigated the effects of UV-A on the survival, fecundity and expression profiles of several stress-responsive genes belonging to the heat shock protein (Hsp) and the cytochrome CYP6BQ families from the adult red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae). The results showed that short-term UV-A exposure (365 nm, <4h) did not influence the survival or fecundity of the beetles; however, Hsp27, Hsp68, Hsp83, CYP6BQ4 and CYP6BQ8 mRNA levels significantly increased during the first 2h of UV-A exposure. Among them, Hsp68 was the most highly up-regulated, increasing by 8.9-fold. These results indicate that these genes may participate in the defense against harmful UV-A radiation. In addition, we investigated the potential transcription factor binding motifs (TFBMs) in the promoter sequences of genes induced in similar pattern from the Hsp and P450 gene families; the results indicated that, these motifs are highly homologous to environmental stress transcription factor binding sites in mammals. Our experiments revealed that UV-A irradiation could influence the expression profile of stress-responsive genes, such as Hsps and P450s, which have universal TFBMs, and that these genes may be involved in reducing the ecological challenges posed by irradiation.
authors.affiliation: Hubei Insect Resources Utilization and Sustainable Pest Management Key Laboratory, Institute of Insect Resources, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Sang
authors.forename: Wei-Hua
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Lin
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Qiu
authors.forename: Zhi-Hui
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Chao-Liang
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Lei
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D015971:Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic; D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D012313:RNA / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics; D011897:Random Allocation; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D016019:Survival Analysis; D014231:Tribolium / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D006360:Heat-Shock Proteins; D012313:RNA; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System