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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Hilo, Hawaii » Daniel K. Inouye U.S. Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center » Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #312295
Title: Pupal x-ray irradiation influences protein expression in adults of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis

Author
item Chang, Chiou
item Villalun, Maryann
item Geib, Scott
item Goodman, Cynthia
item Ringbauer, Joseph - Joe
item Stanley, David

Submitted to: Journal of Insect Physiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/4/2015
Publication Date: 3/12/2015
Citation: Chang, C.L., Villalun, M.V., Geib, S.M., Goodman, C.L., Ringbauer Jr., J.A., Stanley, D.W. 2015. Pupal x-ray irradiation influences protein expression in adults of the oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis. Journal of Insect Physiology. 76:7-16.

Interpretive Summary: The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, is a pest of fruit in the Asia-Pacific region and California. Area-wide suppression of B.dorsalis integrated several approaches including the sterile insect technique (SIT). SIT involves exposing juveniles to gamma radiation and releasing sterile males in substantial numbers, where they successfully compete for wild females. The resulting infertile eggs lead to reduction of the pest populations. Although these protocols are well documented, arising issues about the international transport and distribution of radioactive products is creating difficulties in use of radioactive sources for sterilizing radiation. This led to a shift toward use of x-ray irradiation, which also sterilizes male and female insects. However, use of x-ray technologies is in its infancy and there is virtually no information on the effects of irradiation, other than sterilization, at the physiological and molecular levels of fruit fly biology. In this study, we tried to see how x-ray irradiation influences fruit fly adults in protein expression level. We posed the hypothesis that sterilizing male oriental fruit flies via radiation treatment also influences protein expression in the flies. We infer that males sterilized by x-ray irradiation may be enfeebled in their ability to compete with wild males for females in nature.

Technical Abstract: We did protein analysis using 1-12-d-old adults from irradiated and non-irradiated oriental fruit fly pupae. We found that exposing pupae to x-ray irradiation impacted expression of 26 proteins in adult females and 30 proteins in adult males. There were 7 proteins (Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, Fructose-bisphosphate aldolase, larval cuticle protein 2, Sarcoplasmic calcium-binding protein alpha-B and A chains, general odorant-binding protein 99b, polyubiquitin, and protein disulfide-isomerase) are impacted on both sexes. Some of the proteins act in central energy-generating and in pheromone-signal processing pathways.