Genome-wide characterization and transcriptomic analyses of neuropeptides and their receptors in an endoparasitoid wasp, Pteromalus puparum

Authors: XU, GANG - Zhejiang University; TENG, ZI-WEN - Zhejiang University; GU, GUI-XIANG - Zhejiang University; QI, YI-XIANG - Zhejiang University; GUO, LEI - Zhejiang University; XIAO, SHAN - Zhejiang University; WANG, FEI - Zhejiang University; FANG, QI - Zhejiang University; SONG, QI-SHENG - University Of Missouri; Stanley, David; YE, GONG-YIN - Zhejiang University

Submitted to: Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/6/2019
Publication Date: 9/29/2019
Citation: Xu, G., Teng, Z., Gu, G., Qi, Y., Guo, L., Xiao, S., Wang, F., Fang, Q., Song, Q., Stanley, D.W., Ye, G. 2019. Genome-wide characterization and transcriptomic analyses of neuropeptides and their receptors in an endoparasitoid wasp, Pteromalus puparum. Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology. 103(2):e21625. https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.21625.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.21625

Interpretive Summary: Beneficial insect species provide valuable ecological services to humans. Many beneficials, such as honey bees, bumble bees, solitary bees, hoverfiies, butterflies, moths and flower beetles (in total, more than 20,000 insect species), are responsible for pollinating nearly 900 high-value food crops. Other beneficial insects are natural enemies of pest insect species. Parasitoid insects deposit their eggs into or onto other insect species, where larvae hatch from the eggs and develop to adulthood using the resources of their host insect. Many parasitoid species provide important biological control services by killing pest insects. Some parasitoid species are commercially raised and released to control pest insects. Despite their economic importance, there is very little genetic information on the beneficials. Such information is crucial to optimizing their use and economic value. This paper is one of a series of seven papers reporting on genomic analyses of the beneficial parasitoid, Pteromalus puparum. Here, we report on genes encoding a group of signal molecules called 'neuropeptides'. We identified 36 genes encoding neuropeptides and 33 genes that operate in neuropeptide signaling. This work will be used by scientists working to improve biological control technologies and may benefit consumers geneally.

Technical Abstract: In insects, neuropeptides constitute a group of signaling molecules that act in regulation of multiple physiological and behavioral processes by binding to their corresponding receptors. Based on bioinformatic approaches, we screened the genomic and transcriptomic data of the parasitoid wasp, Pteromalus puparum, and annotated 36 neuropeptide precursor genes and 33 neuropeptide receptor genes. Compared to the number of precursor genes in Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera), Chilo suppressalis (Lepidoptera), Drosophila melanogaster (Diptera), Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera), Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera), and Tribolium castaneum (Coleoptera), P. puparum (Hymenoptera) has the lowest number of neuropeptide precursor genes. This lower number may relate to its parasitic life cycle. Transcriptomic data of embryos, larvae, pupae, adults, venom glands, salivary glands, ovaries and the remaining carcass revealed stage-, sex- and tissue-specific expression patterns of the neuropeptides and their receptors. These data provided basic information about the identity and expression profiles of neuropeptides and their receptors that are required to functionally address their biological significance in an endoparasitoid wasp.