Knockdown of timeless Disrupts the Circadian Behavioral Rhythms in Laodelphax striatellus (Hemiptera: Delphacidae). Issue 5 (27th July 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jiang, Yan-Dong; Yuan, Xin; Bai, Yue-Liang; Wang, Gui-Yao; Zhou, Wen-Wu; Zhu, Zeng-Rong
• Is Part Of: Environmental entomology. Volume 47:Issue 5(2018)
• Page Start: 1216
• Page End: 1225
• Publication Date: 2018-07-27
• Subjects: circadian clock -- timeless -- locomotor activity -- adult emergence -- RNA interference; Beneficial insects -- Periodicals; Beneficial insects -- United States -- Periodicals; Insect pests -- Control -- Periodicals; Entomology -- Periodicals; 632.7
• DOI: 10.1093/ee/nvy095
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0046-225X

Abstract

Abstract: Most living organisms developed the innate clock system to anticipate daily environmental changes and to enhance their chances of survival. timeless ( tim ) is a canonical clock gene. It has been extensively studied in Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera: Drosophilidae) as a key component of the endogenous circadian clock, but its role is largely unknown in some agriculture pests. Laodelphax striatellus (Fallén) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae), an important rice pest, exhibits a robust locomotor rhythm. In the present study, we cloned tim gene ( ls-tim ) from L. striatellus and investigated its function in the regulation of behavioral rhythms. Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction revealed a circadian expression pattern of ls-tim under different light conditions with a trough in the photophase and a peak in the late scotophase. After the knockdown of ls-tim via RNA interference (RNAi), the adults showed an earlier onset of locomotor activity under light/dark cycles and became arrhythmic in constant darkness. ls-tim RNAi also abolished the timing of adult emergence that normally occurs in the early photophase. These results suggest that ls-tim is essential for the light-entrained circadian rhythms in L. striatellus and provide more insights into the endogenous clock network underlying the behavioral and physiological rhythms of this insect.