title: Identification, expression pattern, and feature analysis of cuticular protein genes in the pine moth Dendrolimus punctatus (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae).
abstract: Cuticular proteins (CPs) are vital components of the insects' cuticle that support movement and protect insect from adverse environmental conditions. The CPs exist in a large number and diversiform structures, thus, the accurate annotation is the first step to interpreting their roles in insect growth. The rapid development of sequencing technology has simplified the access to the information on protein sequences, especially for non-model species. Dendrolimus punctatus is a Lepidopteran defoliator, and its periodic outbreaks cause severe damage to the coniferous forests. The transcriptome of D. punctatus integrating the whole developmental periods are available for the potential investigation of CPs. In this study, we identified 216 CPs from D. punctatus, including 147 from CPR family, 4 from TWDL family, 3 from CPF/CPFL families, 22 from CPAP families, 8 low complexity proteins, 1 CPCPC and 31 from other CP families. The putative CPs were compared with homologs in other species such as Bombyx mori, Manduca sexta and Drosophila melanogaster. We further identified five co-orthologous groups have highly similar sequences of CRPs in nine lepidopteran species, which exclusively presented in RR-2 subfamily rather than RR-1. We inferred that in Lepidoptera the difference in RR-2 numbers was maintained by homologs in co-orthologous groups, coincided with observation in Drosophila and Anopheles that gene cluster was the model and source for the expansion of RR-2 genes. In combination with the variation of members in each CP family among different species, these results indicated the evolution of CPs was highly correlated to the adaptation of insect to environment. Furthermore, we compared the amino acid composition of the different types CPRs, and examined the expression patterns of CP genes in various developmental stages. The comprehensive overview of CPs from our study provides an insight into their evolution and the association between them and insect development.
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China.
authors.forename: Cong-Hui
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Peng-Cheng
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Forest Protection, Research Institute of Forest Ecology, Environment and Protection, Chinese Academy of Forestry, State Forestry Administration, Beijing, 100091, China.
authors.forename: Su-Fang
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China.
authors.forename: Zhi-Yong
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.affiliation: Beijing Institutes of Life Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China; State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China.
authors.forename: Le
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kang
authors.affiliation: College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China. Electronic address: zhangab2008@mail.cnu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Ai-Bing
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019143:Evolution, Molecular; D019476:Insect Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D009036:Moths / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D005810:Multigene Family; D010802:Phylogeny
chemical_list: D019476:Insect Proteins
keywords: CPR family; Concerted evolution; Cuticular proteins; Dendrolimus punctatus; Expression patterns