AUTHOR=Jia Ya-Long , Zhang Yi-Jie , Guo Di , Li Chen-Yu , Ma Jun-Yu , Gao Cong-Fen , Wu Shun-Fan 

TITLE=A Mechanosensory Receptor TMC Regulates Ovary Development in the Brown Planthopper Nilaparvata lugens

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Genetics

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/genetics/articles/10.3389/fgene.2020.573603

DOI=10.3389/fgene.2020.573603

ISSN=1664-8021

ABSTRACT=<p>Transmembrane channel-like (TMC) genes encode a family of evolutionarily conserved membrane proteins. Mutations in the TMC1 and TMC2 cause deafness in humans and mice. However, their functions in insects are is still not well known. Here we cloned three <italic>tmc</italic> genes, <italic>Nltmc3</italic>, <italic>Nltmc5</italic>, and <italic>Nltmc7</italic> from brown planthoppers. The predicted amino acid sequences showed high identity with other species homologs and have the characteristic eight or nine transmembrane domains and TMC domain architecture. We detected these three genes in all developmental stages and examined tissues. Interestingly, we found <italic>Nltmc3</italic> was highly expressed in the female reproductive organ especially in the oviduct. RNAi-mediated silencing of <italic>Nltmc3</italic> substantially decreased the egg-laying number and impaired ovary development. Our results indicate that <italic>Nltmc3</italic> has an essential role in the ovary development of brown planthoppers.</p>