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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 #331759
Research Project: Detection, Control and Area-wide Management of Fruit Flies and Other Quarantine Pests of Tropical/Subtropical Crops

Location: Tropical Crop and Commodity Protection Research

Title: Proteomic identification of a potential sex biomarker for 2 fruit fly species at pupal stage

Author
item Chang, Chiou

Submitted to: Journal of Asia Pacific Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/22/2016
Publication Date: 12/3/2016
Citation: Chang, C.L. 2016. Proteomic identification of a potential sex biomarker for 2 fruit fly species at pupal stage. Journal of Asia Pacific Entomology. doi:10.1016/j.aspen2016.11.005.

Interpretive Summary: The Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) has gained wider use due to their environmentally benign nature. By releasing only sterile males, the efficiency of the technique can be increased multiple fold, and fruit damage due to stings by sterile females is avoided. Ways have been developed to differentiate females and males at their pupal stage biologically such as through the color of puparium and prepuparium to promote the use of the SIT against tephritid pests or dissect the prepupae our of puparium. However, there is no clear means to differentiate the sexes at the molecular level. This study tried to identify the sex biomarkers using proteomics approach for 2 fruit fly species at pupal stage. Analysis of DTWP and TSL color sexing strain led us to differentiate female from male at pupal stage by identifying the biomarker of OBP56d. These biomarkers are located at molecular weight between 10-15 K Dalton and PI 6-7. It also provides the information that females perceive the odors.

Technical Abstract: We collected brown and white pupae from rearing DTWP larvae on liquid diet and TSL strain from CDFA rearing facility respectively and daily and analyzed protein expression from pupal age 1-10 days old using 2D electrophoresis. In this report, two pupal color sexing strain [dorsalis translocation white pupae (DTWP) and temperature sensitive lethal mutation strain (TSL)], were analyzed to differentiate the expressed proteins between brown and white pupae to identify the possible traits/biomarkers for separation of the females and males at pupal stage. Gel densitometry revealed that general odorant binding protein 56d (Obp56d or m.6447) significantly expressed in 1 to 10-d-old white pupae and pupal cuticle protein Edg-84A (BDOR_011128-RA, m.6644, or FBpp0111679) expressed in 1 to 7-d-old white pupae. From day 5-10, some additional pupal cuticle proteins appeared to prepare for adult emergence. These results also confirmed with qPCR.