title: RNAi-Mediated Knock-Down of transformer and transformer 2 to Generate Male-Only Progeny in the Oriental Fruit Fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel).
abstract: The transformer (tra) gene appears to act as the genetic switch that promotes female development by interaction with the transformer2 (tra-2) gene in several dipteran species including the Medfly, housefly and Drosophila melanogaster. In this study, we describe the isolation, expression and function of tra and tra-2 in the economically important agricultural pest, the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel). Bdtra and Bdtra-2 are similar to their homologs from other tephritid species. Bdtra demonstrated sex-specific transcripts: one transcript in females and two transcripts in males. In contrast, Bdtra-2 only had one transcript that was common to males and females, which was transcribed continuously in different adult tissues and developmental stages. Bdtra-2 and the female form of Bdtra were maternally inherited in eggs, whereas the male form of Bdtra was not detectable until embryos of 1 and 2 h after egg laying. Function analyses of Bdtra and Bdtra-2 indicated that both were indispensable for female development, as nearly 100% males were obtained with embryonic RNAi against either Bdtra or Bdtra-2. The fertility of these RNAi-generated males was subsequently tested. More than 80% of RNAi-generated males could mate and the mated females could lay eggs, but only 40-48.6% males gave rise to progeny. In XX-reversed males and intersex individuals, no clear female gonadal morphology was observed after dissection. These results shed light on the development of a genetic sexing system with male-only release for this agricultural pest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Invasions, State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management in Agriculture, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Entomological Institute, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Guiqing
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Invasions, State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Invasions, State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jianwei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Invasions, State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Guifen
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Invasions, State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China; Agricultural Genome Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen, China.
authors.forename: Fanghao
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wan
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004175:Diptera / Q000235:genetics* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D020868:Gene Silencing; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D008297:Male; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D019849:Sex Determination Processes / Q000235:genetics*; D012733:Sex Differentiation / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D016601:RNA-Binding Proteins