title: Identification and expression profiles of neuropeptides and their G protein-coupled receptors in the rice stem borer Chilo suppressalis.
abstract: In insects, neuropeptides play important roles in the regulation of multiple physiological processes by binding to their corresponding receptors, which are primarily G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The genes encoding neuropeptides and their associated GPCRs in the rice stem borer Chilo suppressalis were identified by a transcriptomic analysis and were used to identify potential targets for the disruption of physiological processes and the protection of crops. Forty-three candidate genes were found to encode the neuropeptide precursors for all known insect neuropeptides except for arginine-vasopressin-like peptide (AVLP), CNMamide, neuropeptide-like precursors 2-4 (NPLP2-4), and proctolin. In addition, novel alternative splicing variants of three neuropeptide genes (allatostatin CC, CCHamide 1, and short neuropeptide F) are reported for the first time, and 51 putative neuropeptide GPCRs were identified. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that 44 of these GPCRs belong to the A-family (or rhodopsin-like), 5 belong to the B-family (or secretin-like), and 2 are leucine-rich repeat-containing GPCRs. These GPCRs and their likely ligands were also described. qRT-PCR analyses revealed the expression profiles of the neuropeptide precursors and GPCR genes in various tissues of C. suppressalis. Our study provides fundamental information that may further our understanding of neuropeptidergic signaling systems in Lepidoptera and aid in the design of peptidomimetics, pseudopeptides or small molecules capable of disrupting the physiological processes regulated by these signaling molecules and their receptors.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology &Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Gang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology &Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Gui-Xiang
authors.initials: GX
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology &Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Zi-Wen
authors.initials: ZW
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology &Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.|College of Plant Protection, State &Local Joint Engineering Research Center of Green Pesticide Invention and Application, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
authors.forename: Shun-Fan
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology &Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Jia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: Division of Plant Sciences, Missouri University, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
authors.forename: Qi-Sheng
authors.initials: QS
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology &Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Gong-Yin
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology &Key Laboratory of Agricultural Entomology of Ministry of Agriculture, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
authors.forename: Qi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D017398:Alternative Splicing; D000818:Animals; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling / Q000379:methods*; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009479:Neuropeptides / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012275:Oryza / Q000469:parasitology*; D010802:Phylogeny; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA / Q000379:methods; D014018:Tissue Distribution
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins; D009479:Neuropeptides; D043562:Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled