2. Academic Validation
  3. Insulin/IGF signaling and TORC1 promote vitellogenesis via inducing juvenile hormone biosynthesis in the American cockroach

Insulin/IGF signaling and TORC1 promote vitellogenesis via inducing juvenile hormone biosynthesis in the American cockroach

  • Development. 2020 Oct 23;147(20):dev188805. doi: 10.1242/dev.188805.
Shiming Zhu 1 2,  Fangfang Liu 1,  Huanchao Zeng 1 2,  Na Li 1 2,  Chonghua Ren 1,  Yunlin Su 3,  Shutang Zhou 4,  Guirong Wang 5,  Subba Reddy Palli 6,  Jian Wang 7,  Yiru Qin 8,  Sheng Li 8 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, Institute of Insect Science and Technology and School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China.
  • 2 Guangmeiyuan R&D Center, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, South China Normal University, Meizhou 514779, China.
  • 3 Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement Center South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510650, China.
  • 4 Key Laboratory of Plant Stress Biology, State Key Laboratory of Cotton Biology, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng 475001, China.
  • 5 Lingnan Guangdong Laboratory of Modern Agriculture, Genome Analysis Laboratory of the Ministry of Agriculture, Agricultural Genomics Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China.
  • 6 Department of Entomology, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40546, USA.
  • 7 Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
  • 8 Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental Biology and Applied Technology, Institute of Insect Science and Technology and School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China lisheng@scnu.edu.cn yqin@m.scnu.edu.cn.
PMID: 33097549 DOI: 10.1242/dev.188805
Abstract

Vitellogenesis, including vitellogenin (Vg) production in the fat body and Vg uptake by maturing oocytes, is of great importance for the successful reproduction of adult females. The endocrinal and nutritional regulation of vitellogenesis differs distinctly in insects. Here, the complex crosstalk between juvenile hormone (JH) and the two nutrient sensors Insulin/IGF signaling (IIS) and target of rapamycin complex1 (TORC1), was investigated to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of vitellogenesis regulation in the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana Our data showed that a block of JH biosynthesis or JH action arrested vitellogenesis, in part by inhibiting the expression of doublesex (Dsx), a key transcription factor gene involved in the sex determination cascade. Depletion of IIS or TORC1 blocked both JH biosynthesis and vitellogenesis. Importantly, the JH analog methoprene, but not bovine Insulin (to restore IIS) and Amino acids (to restore TORC1 activity), restored vitellogenesis in the neck-ligated (IIS-, TORC1- and JH-deficient) and rapamycin-treated (TORC1- and JH-deficient) cockroaches. Combining classic physiology with modern molecular techniques, we have demonstrated that IIS and TORC1 promote vitellogenesis, mainly via inducing JH biosynthesis in the American cockroach.

Keywords

Dsx; IIS; Juvenile hormone; TORC1; Vitellogenesis.

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