Phenotypic and Differential Gene Expression Analyses of Phase Transition in Oedaleus Asiaticus under High-Density Population Stress

The high-density-dependent phase change from solitary to gregarious individuals in locusts is a typical example of phenotypic plasticity. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is not clear. In this study, first, Oedaleus asiaticus were treated with high-density population stress and then analy...

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Published inInsects (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 13; no. 11; p. 1034
Main Authors Guo, Na, Ma, Hongyue, Han, Haibin, Yan, Feng, Gao, Haiyan, Zhang, Yuanyuan, Gao, Shujing
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 08.11.2022
MDPI
Subjects
Behavior
DNA methylation
Dopamine
Gene expression
Genes
Genetic transformation
Grasslands
High density
high-density population
Hormones
Insects
Kinases
Locusts
Metabolic pathways
Oedaleus asiaticus
Orthoptera
Outbreaks
Pest outbreaks
Phase change
Phase transitions
Phase variations
Phenotypic plasticity
Phenotypic variations
Plastic properties
Plasticity
Polymorphism
Population density
Proteins
Signal transduction
Software
transcriptomics
China
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Summary:The high-density-dependent phase change from solitary to gregarious individuals in locusts is a typical example of phenotypic plasticity. However, the underlying molecular mechanism is not clear. In this study, first, Oedaleus asiaticus were treated with high-density population stress and then analyzed by Illumina sequencing on days 1, 3, 5, and 7 of the body color change to identify the stage-specific differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The KEGG pathway enrichment analysis of the identified DEGs revealed their role in metabolic pathways. Furthermore, the expression patterns of the nine key DEGs were studied in detail; this showed that the material change in locusts began on the third day of the high-density treatment, with the number of DEGs being the largest, indicating the importance of this period in the phase transition. In addition, the phenotypic change involved several key genes of important regulatory pathways, possibly working in a complex network. Phenotypic plasticity in locusts is multifactorial, involving multilevel material network interactions. This study improves the mechanistic understanding of phenotypic variation in insects at the genetic level.
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These authors contributed equally to this work.
ISSN:2075-4450
2075-4450
DOI:10.3390/insects13111034