Odorant-binding protein 2 is involved in the preference of Sogatella furcifera (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) for rice plants infected with the Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus

Authors

  • Kui Hu Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Biology and Control of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China
  • Houhong Yang Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Biology and Control of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China
  • Sheng Liu Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Biology and Control of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China
  • Hualiang He Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Biology and Control of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China
  • Wenbing Ding Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Biology and Control of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China
  • Lin Qui Hunan Provincial Key Laboratory for Biology and Control of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, College of Plant Protection, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha, 410128, China
  • Li Youzhi

Abstract

Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus, transmitted by the white-backed planthopper (Sogatella furcifera [Horváth]) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) was first found in Guangdong Province, China. A previous study has demonstrated that the host plant preferences of S. furcifera are altered by infection with the virus, with virus-free S. furcifera preferring virus-infected rice plants over healthy rice plants, whereas viruliferous S. furcifera prefer uninfected plants. To test the hypothesis that odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are involved in the preference of S. furcifera for virus-infected rice plants, we first compared the expression levels of SfurOBP2 and SfurOBP11 in virus-free and viruliferous S. furcifera. The results show that mRNA transcript of these 2 genes were significantly reduced in viruliferous S. furcifera. We then used RNAi-mediated gene silencing to confirm the function of these 2 odorant-binding proteins in host selection of S. furcifera. The results showed that silencing of the SfurOBP2 gene caused virus-free S. furcifera to no longer prefer virus-infected rice plants over uninfected rice plants, but the ability to locate host plants was maintained. These results indicate that SfurOBP2 appears to play a crucial role in the preference of S. furcifera for virus-infected rice plants.

 

Resumen

El virus del enanismo de raya negra del arroz del sur, transmitido por el delfácido de espalda blanca (Sogatella furcifera [Horváth]) (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) se encontró por primera vez en la provincia de Guangdong, China. Un estudio anterior ha demostrado que la preferencia de las plantas hospederas de S. furcifera se ven alteradas por la infección del virus, con los S. furcifera libres de virus prefiriendo las plantas de arroz infectadas con el virus sobre las plantas de arroz sanas, mientras que los S. furcifera virulíferos prefiriere las plantas no infectadas. Para probar la hipótesis de que las proteínas de unión a odorantes (PUO) están implicadas con la preferencia de S. furcifera por las plantas de arroz infectadas por virus, primero comparamos los niveles de expresión de SfurOBP2 y SfurOBP11 en S. furcifera libre de virus y con virus. Los resultados muestran que el transcrito de ARNm de estos 2 genes se redujo significativamente en S. furcifera virulífero. Luego utilizamos el silenciamiento de genes mediado por RNAi para confirmar la función de estas 2 proteínas de unión a odorantes en la selección del hospedero de S. furcifera. Los resultados mostraron que el silenciamiento del gen SfurOBP2 causó que los S. furcifera sin virus, dejara de preferir las plantas de arroz infectadas por el virus en lugar de las plantas de arroz no infectadas, pero se mantuvo la capacidad de localizar las plantas hospederas. Estos resultados indican que SfurOBP2 parece jugar un papel crucial en la preferencia de S. furcifera por las plantas de arroz infectadas con virus.

 Key Words: white-backed planthopper; host plant choice; gene silencing; olfactory protein

View this article in BioOne https://doi.org/10.1653/024.102.0210

 

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Published

2019-07-31

Issue

Vol. 102, No. 2 (June 2019)

Section

Research Papers

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