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ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Weed and Insect Biology Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #399004
Research Project: Enhancing Pollinator Health and Availability Through Conservation of Genetic Diversity and Development of Novel Management Tools and Strategies

Location: Weed and Insect Biology Research

Title: Transcriptional landscape of early diapause in field-collected Colorado potato beetles

Author
item Torson, Alex
item Melicher, Dacotah
item Yocum, George
item Rinehart, Joe

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/5/2022
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: To cope with winter stress, many insects in temperate environments enter diapause. Diapause is characterized by a developmental arrest, decreased metabolic rate, and increased stress tolerance. Many of the phenotypic changes that occur during diapause are well understood, but less is known about their underlying physiological mechanisms and how these mechanisms might differ between sexes – especially in species that enter a reproductive diapause as adults. Here, we used RNA-seq to compare gene expression profiles of field-collected diapausing and non-diapausing Colorado potato beetle males and females. We observed significant sex-specific gene expression profiles, a global decrease in the expression of genes related to aerobic metabolism, evidence of a G2/M cell-cycle arrest, and differential expression patterns of genes involved in the insulin and FOXO signaling pathways, supporting their central role in diapause regulation.