Experimental and Applied Acarology (2016) 70, 1-15

Wen-Kai Xia, Xiao-Min Shen, Tian-Bo Ding, Jin-Zhi Niu, Rui Zhong, Chong-Yu Liao, Ying-Cai Feng, Wei Dou and Jin-Jun Wang (2016)
Functional analysis of a chitinase gene during the larval-nymph transition in Panonychus citri by RNA interference
Experimental and Applied Acarology 70 (1), 1-15
Abstract: Chitinases are hydrolytic enzymes that are required for chitin degradation and reconstruction in arthropods. In this study, we report a cDNA sequence encoding a putative chitinase (PcCht1) from the citrus red mite, Panonychus citri. The PcCht1 (564 aa) possessed a signal peptide, a conserver domain, and a chitin-binding domain. Structural and phylogenetic analyses found that PcCht1 had high sequence similarity to chitinases in Tetranychus urticae. Real-time quantitative PCR analyses showed that the transcript levels of PcCht1 peaked periodically in larval and nymph stages. Moreover, significant increase of PcCht1 transcript level in the larvae was observed upon the exposure of diflubenzuron. In contrast, exposures of the larvae to diflubenzuron resulted in the decreased chitin content. Furthermore, through a feeding-based RNA interference approach, we were able to reduce the PcCht1 transcript level by 59.7 % in the larvae, and consequently the treated larvae showed a very low molting rate compared with the control. Our results expanded the understanding of the important role of PcCht1 in the growth and development of P. citri.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Jin-Jun Wang

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
molecular biology - genes

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Panonychus citri