Methyl Farnesoate Plays a Dual Role in Regulating Drosophila Metamorphosis

Authors

Di Wen, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Crisalejandra Rivera-Perez, Florida International University
Mohamed Abdou, University of Maryland - College Park
Qiangqiang Jia, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Qianyu He, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Xi Liu, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Ola Zyaan, University of Maryland - College Park
Jingjing Xu, University of KentuckyFollow
William G. Bendena, Queen’s University, Canada
Stephen S. Tobe, University of Toronto, Canada
Fernando G. Noriega, Florida International University
Subba R. Palli, University of KentuckyFollow
Jian Wang, University of Maryland - College Park
Sheng Li, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China

Abstract

Corpus allatum (CA) ablation results in juvenile hormone (JH) deficiency and pupal lethality in Drosophila. The fly CA produces and releases three sesquiterpenoid hormones: JH III bisepoxide (JHB3), JH III, and methyl farnesoate (MF). In the whole body extracts, MF is the most abundant sesquiterpenoid, followed by JHB3 and JH III. Knockout of JH acid methyl transferase (jhamt) did not result in lethality; it decreased biosynthesis of JHB3, but MF biosynthesis was not affected. RNAi-mediated reduction of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl CoA reductase (hmgcr) expression in the CA decreased biosynthesis and titers of the three sesquiterpenoids, resulting in partial lethality. Reducing hmgcr expression in the CA of the jhamt mutant further decreased MF titer to a very low level, and caused complete lethality. JH III, JHB3, and MF function through Met and Gce, the two JH receptors, and induce expression of Kr-h1, a JH primary-response gene. As well, a portion of MF is converted to JHB3 in the hemolymph or peripheral tissues. Topical application of JHB3, JH III, or MF precluded lethality in JH-deficient animals, but not in the Met gce double mutant. Taken together, these experiments show that MF is produced by the larval CA and released into the hemolymph, from where it exerts its anti-metamorphic effects indirectly after conversion to JHB3, as well as acting as a hormone itself through the two JH receptors, Met and Gce.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-16-2015

Notes/Citation Information

Published in PLOS Genetics, v. 11, no. 3, article e1005038, p. 1-19.

© 2015 Wen et al.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgen.1005038

Funding Information

This study was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB13030700), the 973 program (2012CB114605), and the National Science Foundation of China (31330072, 31125025) to SL. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Repository Citation

Wen, Di; Rivera-Perez, Crisalejandra; Abdou, Mohamed; Jia, Qiangqiang; He, Qianyu; Liu, Xi; Zyaan, Ola; Xu, Jingjing; Bendena, William G.; Tobe, Stephen S.; Noriega, Fernando G.; Palli, Subba R.; Wang, Jian; and Li, Sheng, "Methyl Farnesoate Plays a Dual Role in Regulating Drosophila Metamorphosis" (2015). Entomology Faculty Publications. 86.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/entomology_facpub/86