0000000000148246
AUTHOR
Mikko Merisalo
Transcriptional Differences between Diapausing and Non-Diapausing D. montana Females Reared under the Same Photoperiod and Temperature
Background A wide range of insects living at higher latitudes enter diapause at the end of the warm season, which increases their chances of survival through harsh winter conditions. In this study we used RNA sequencing to identify genes involved in adult reproductive diapause in a northern fly species, Drosophila montana. Both diapausing and non-diapausing flies were reared under a critical day length and temperature, where about half of the emerging females enter diapause enabling us to eliminate the effects of varying environmental conditions on gene expression patterns of the two types of female flies. Results RNA sequencing revealed large differences between gene expression patterns of…
De novo RNA sequencing enables transcriptome studies in non-model species : gene expression patterns involved in Drosophila montana reproductive diapause
Monet pohjoiset hyönteiset selviävät talvesta lisääntymislepokaudessa, joka on geneettisesti määräytyvä ja hormonaalisesti ohjattu fysiologinen lepotila. Lisääntymislepokautta on pääosin tutkittu ekologisesta ja fysiologisesta näkökulmasta, mutta sen geneettisestä taustasta tiedetään vähemmän. Geneettisen tiedon puuttumiseen ovat vaikuttaneet sopivan tutkimuslajin ja menetelmien puute, sekä toisaalta lisääntymislepokauden varsin monimutkainen luonne. Nykyaikaiset sekvensointi-menetelmät mahdollistavat varsin laajat geneettiset tutkimukset lajeilla, joiden genomia ei ole vielä sekvensoitu, mutta joiden ekologiasta on paljon tutkimustietoa. Esimerkkinä kyseisenlaisesta tutkimuslajista lisäänt…
Seasonal gene expression kinetics between diapause phases in Drosophila virilis group species and overwintering differences between diapausing and non-diapausing females.
AbstractMost northern insect species experience a period of developmental arrest, diapause, which enables them to survive over the winter and postpone reproduction until favorable conditions. We studied the timing of reproductive diapause and its long-term effects on the cold tolerance of Drosophila montana, D. littoralis and D. ezoana females in seasonally varying environmental conditions. At the same time we traced expression levels of 219 genes in D. montana using a custom-made microarray. We show that the seasonal switch to reproductive diapause occurs over a short time period and that overwintering in reproductive diapause has long-lasting effects on cold tolerance. Some genes, such as…