title: Differentially methylated genomic fragments related with sexual dimorphism of rice pests, Sogatella furcifera.
abstract: Sogatella furcifera (Hovarth) is a major rice pest with sexual dimorphism. The objective of the current research was to monitor differentially cytosine methylation at CCGG sequences in male and female adults of S. furcifera to determine the association between gene methylation and sexual phenotypes using methylation-sensitive representational difference analysis. After the second subtractive hybridization, four differentially methylated DNA bands were obtained and sequenced. Ten different fragments were found. One fragment from the positive hybridization was 120 bp, and highly similar to the tramtrack genes from Nasonia vitripennis. Another fragment from the reverse hybridization was 414 bp, and homologous to the 28S rRNA gene of S. furcifera with a similarity rate as high as 99%. We also discussed how DNA methylation of tramtrack and 28S rRNA genes produced effects on sexual differentiation and development. These results provide potential evidence that DNA methylation of some genes may be related to sexual phenotype variations in S. furcifera and will facilitate future studies on the epigenetic mechanisms of insect sexual dimorphism.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol and Institute of Entomology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol and Institute of Entomology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
authors.forename: Jia-Lin
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol and Institute of Entomology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
authors.forename: Shi-Ke
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol and Institute of Entomology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
authors.forename: Guang-Hong
authors.initials: GH
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory for Biocontrol and Institute of Entomology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China.
authors.forename: Fang-Hai
authors.initials: FH
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Kohat University of Science & Technology, Kohat, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Ijaz
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ahmad
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019175:DNA Methylation; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D049750:Genome, Insect; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D012275:Oryza; D012727:Sex Characteristics
keywords: cytosine methylations; epigenetics; methylation-sensitive representational difference analysis; rice planthopper; sexual dimorphism; tramtrack