A neural m^(6)A pathway regulates behavioral aggregation in migratory locusts  

作　　者：Xianliang Huang Qing Li Yanan Xu Ang Li Shanzheng Wang Yusheng Chen Chunrui Zhang Xia Zhang Hailin Wang Cong Lv Baofa Sun Shaoqin Li Le Kang Bing Chen 

机构地区：[1]School of Life Science,Institutes of Life Science and Green Development,Hebei University,Baoding 071002,China [2]College of Plant Science and Technology,Huazhong Agricultural University,Wuhan 430070,China [3]State Key Laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insects and Rodents,Institute of Zoology,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100101,China [4]Institute of Health Sciences,Anhui University,Hefei 230601,China [5]Beijing Institute of Genomics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing 100101,China [6]State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology,Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences,Chinese Academy of Sciences,Beijing,100101,China

出　　处：《Science China(Life Sciences)》2024年第6期1242-1254,共13页中国科学（生命科学英文版）

基　　金：supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China(2022YFD1400503);the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32102208);Hebei Natural Science Foundation(C2022201042,C2023201075);Hebei Educational Committee Foundation(BJK2023015)。

摘　　要：RNA N6-methyladenosine(m^(6)A),as the most abundant modification of messenger RNA,can modulate insect behaviors,but its specific roles in aggregation behaviors remain unexplored.Here,we conducted a comprehensive molecular and physiological characterization of the individual components of the methyltransferase and demethylase in the migratory locust Locusta migratoria.Our results demonstrated that METTL3,METTL14 and ALKBH5 were dominantly expressed in the brain and exhibited remarkable responses to crowding or isolation.The individual knockdown of methyltransferases(i.e.,METTL3 and METTL14)promoted locust movement and conspecific attraction,whereas ALKBH5 knockdown induced a behavioral shift toward the solitary phase.Furthermore,global transcriptome profiles revealed that m^(6)A modification could regulate the orchestration of gene expression to fine tune the behavioral aggregation of locusts.In summary,our in vivo characterization of the m^(6)A functions in migratory locusts clearly demonstrated the crucial roles of the m^(6)A pathway in effectively modulating aggregation behaviors.

关 键 词：RNA methylation N^(6)-methyladenosine transcriptional orchestration aggregation behavior Locusta migratoria 

分 类 号：Q963[生物学—昆虫学]