title: Characterization of a spruce budworm chitin deacetylase gene: stage- and tissue-specific expression, and inhibition using RNA interference.
abstract: Chitin deacetylase (CDA) catalyzes the conversion of chitin into chitosan, thereby modifying the physical properties of insect cuticles and peritrophic matrices. A lepidopteran chitin deacetylase gene (CfCDA2) was cloned from the spruce budworm, Choristoneura fumiferana, and found to generate two alternatively spliced transcripts, CfCDA2a and CfCDA2b. Transcriptional analysis using isoform-specific RT-PCR primers indicated that both isoforms were upregulated during the molt. Interestingly, CfCDA2b transcripts were most abundant in the head during the molting stage while those of CfCDA2a were predominant in the epidermis during the feeding period. Injection of CfCDA2-specific dsRNA into C. fumiferana larvae or pre-pupae induced both abnormal phenotypes and high mortality, which resulted from an inability to shed the old cuticle. These results suggest that CfCDA2 plays an important role in the molting process, and that the two alternatively spliced transcripts have different functions during insect development. This is the first detailed characterization of lepidopteran chitin deacetylase gene.
authors.affiliation: Natural Resources Canada, Canadian Forest Service, Great Lakes Forestry Centre, 1219 Queen Street East, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario P6A 2E5, Canada. gquan@nrcan.gc.ca
authors.forename: Guoxing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Quan
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ladd
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: Fayuan
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wen
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Doucet
authors.forename: Michel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cusson
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Krell
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000581:Amidohydrolases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D018978:Molting; D009036:Moths / Q000201:enzymology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000254:growth & development; D010641:Phenotype; D034622:RNA Interference; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA
chemical_list: D000581:Amidohydrolases; C019866:chitin deacetylase
keywords: Chitin; Epidermis; Molting; RNAi; Spruce budworm