title: Molecular and functional characterization of the ecdysone receptor isoform-A from the cotton mirid bug, Apolygus lucorum (Meyer-Dür).
abstract: We cloned the cDNA of the ecdysone receptor (EcR) isoform-A from the mirid bug, Apolygus lucorum (AlEcR-A). The AlEcR-A cDNA has an open reading frame of 1410 bp with a conserved sequence of approximately 20 amino acids at the carboxyl-end of its A/B-specific domain. Phylogenetic analysis showed that AlEcR-A is very similar to the EcR-A genes of other Hemiptera species. AlEcR-A mRNA was detected at all developmental stages of A. lucorum with peaks correlating to ecdysteroid pulses. AlEcR-A was also expressed in all analyzed tissues with maximum expression in the epidermis and fat body. An AlEcR-A mRNA of size 1.8 kb was detected in all tissues by northern blot analysis. We investigated the functions of AlEcR-A in A. lucorum growth and development using RNAi in vivo. Weights of fifth instar nymphs were significantly decreased in insects treated with AlEcR-A specific anti-sense RNA. Mortality from third instar nymphs to adults increased significantly along with a significant increase in instar duration.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, China. Electronic address: tyajaas@jaas.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Yong-An
authors.initials: YA
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, China.
authors.forename: Liu-Bin
authors.initials: LB
authors.lastname: Xiao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Protection, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing, 210014, China. Electronic address: jaasblx@sohu.com.
authors.forename: Li-Xin
authors.initials: LX
authors.lastname: Bai
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000235:genetics; D020062:Heteroptera / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D010802:Phylogeny; D020033:Protein Isoforms / Q000235:genetics*; D016372:RNA, Antisense / Q000235:genetics; D011987:Receptors, Steroid / Q000235:genetics*; D016415:Sequence Alignment
chemical_list: D018076:DNA, Complementary; D020033:Protein Isoforms; D016372:RNA, Antisense; D011987:Receptors, Steroid; C055469:ecdysone receptor
keywords: Apolygus lucorum; Ecdysone receptor; Expression profile; RNA interference