Characterization and Expression of Genes Encoding Three Small Heat Shock Proteins in Sesamia inferens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

International Journal of Molecular Sciences

Meng Sun¹  Ming-Xing Lu¹  Xiao-Tian Tang¹  Yu-Zhou Du¹ 

[1] School of Horticulture and Plant Protection & Institute of Applied Entomology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou 225009, China; E-Mails:

关键词: Sesamia inferens;    small heat shock protein;    cloning;    expression pattern;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijms151223196

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

The pink stem borer, Sesamia inferens (Walker), is a major pest of rice and is endemic in China and other parts of Asia. Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) encompass a diverse, widespread class of stress proteins that have not been characterized in S. inferens. In the present study, we isolated and characterized three S. inferens genes that encode members of the α-crystallin/sHSP family, namely, Sihsp21.4, Sihsp20.6, and Sihsp19.6. The three cDNAs encoded proteins of 187, 183 and 174 amino acids with calculated molecular weights of 21.4, 20.6 and 19.6 kDa, respectively. The deduced amino acid sequences of the three genes showed strong similarity to sHSPs identified in other lepidopteran insects. Sihsp21.4 contained an intron, but Sihsp20.6 and Sihsp19.6 lacked introns. Real-time quantitative PCR analyses revealed that Sihsp21.4 was most strongly expressed in S. inferens heads; Whereas expression of Sihsp20.6 and Sihsp19.6 was highest in eggs. The three S. inferens sHSP genes were up-regulated during low temperature stress. In summary, our results show that S. inferens sHSP genes have distinct regulatory roles in the physiology of S. inferens.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.