AUTHOR=Yu Hao , Yang Bin , Wang Liuhao , Wang Sijia , Wang Kui , Song Qisheng , Zhang Hongwei 

TITLE=Neuropeptide hormone bursicon mediates female reproduction in the whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=14

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2023.1277439

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2023.1277439

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<p>Bursicon, a neuropeptide hormone comprising two subunits-bursicon (burs) and partner of burs (pburs), belongs to the cystine-knot protein family. Bursicon heterodimers and homodimers bind to the lucine-rich G-protein coupled receptor (LGR) encoded by <italic>ricket</italic>s to regulate multiple physiological processes in arthropods. Notably, these processes encompass the regulation of female reproduction, a recent revelation in <italic>Tribolium castaneum</italic>. In this study we investigated the role of burs/pburs/rickets in mediating female vitellogenesis and reproduction in a hemipteran insect, the whitefly, <italic>Bemisia tabaci</italic>. Our investigation unveiled a synchronized expression of <italic>burs, pburs</italic> and <italic>rickets</italic>, with their transcripts persisting detectable in the days following eclosion. RNAi-mediated knockdown of <italic>burs</italic>, <italic>pburs</italic> or <italic>rickets</italic> significantly suppressed the transcript levels of <italic>vitellogenin</italic> (<italic>Vg</italic>) and <italic>Vg receptor</italic> in the female whiteflies. These effects also impaired ovarian maturation and female fecundity, as evidenced by a reduction in the number of eggs laid per female, a decrease in egg size and a decline in egg hatching rate. Furthermore, knockdown of <italic>burs</italic>, <italic>pburs</italic> or <italic>rickets</italic> led to diminished juvenile hormone (JH) titers and reduced transcript level of <italic>Kruppel homolog-1</italic>. However, this impact did not extend to genes in the insulin pathway or target of rapamycin pathway, deviating from the results observed in <italic>T. castaneum</italic>. Taken together, we conclude that burs/pburs/rickets regulates the vitellogenesis and reproduction in the whiteflies by coordinating with the JH signaling pathway.</p>