AUTHOR=Zhou Hong , Zhang Yong-qiang , Lai Ting , Liu Xue-jiao , Guo Fu-you , Guo Tao , Ding Wei 

TITLE=Acaricidal Mechanism of Scopoletin Against Tetranychus cinnabarinus

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2019

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2019.00164

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2019.00164

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=<p>Scopoletin is a promising acaricidal botanical natural compound against <italic>Tetranychus cinnabarinus</italic>, and its acaricidal mechanism maybe involve calcium overload according to our previous study. To seek potential candidate target genes of calcium overload induced by scopoletin in <italic>T. cinnabarinus</italic>, RNA-seq was utilized to detect changes in transcription levels. 24 and 48 h after treatment, 70 and 102 differentially expressed genes were obtained, respectively. Target genes included 3 signal transduction genes, 4 cell apoptosis genes, 4 energy metabolism genes, and 2 transcription factor genes. The role of 3 calcium signaling pathway-related genes, namely, G-protein-coupled neuropeptide receptor, Bcl-2 protein and guanylate kinase (designated <italic>TcGPCR</italic>, <italic>TcBAG</italic>, and <italic>TcGUK</italic>, respectively) in the calcium overload were investigated in this study. RT-qPCR detection showed that scopoletin treatment upregulated the expression level of <italic>TcGPCR</italic> and downregulated the expression level of <italic>TcBAG</italic> and <italic>TcGUK</italic>. The result of RNAi indicated that downregulation of <italic>TcGPCR</italic> decreased susceptibility to scopoletin, and downregulation of <italic>TcBAG</italic> and <italic>TcGUK</italic> enhanced susceptibility to scopoletin. Functional expression in Chinese hamster ovary cells showed that scopoletin induced a significant increase in intracellular free calcium [Ca<sup>2+</sup>]i levels by activating <italic>TcGPCR.</italic> These results demonstrated that the acaricidal mechanism of scopoletin was via disrupting intracellular Ca<sup>2+</sup> homeostasis and calcium signaling pathway mediated by GPCR, BAG, and GUK.</p>