Analysis of the antennal transcriptome and olfaction-related genes of the greater wax moth Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)
Author of the article:YANG Shuang; ZHAO Hui-Ting; XU Kai;GUO Li-Na;DU Ya-Li; LI Xin-Yu ;SU Wen-Ting;FENG Yu-Jia
Author's Workplace:Institute of Sericulture and Apiculture, Yunnan Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Mengzi 661101, China; College of Animal Science and Technology, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China; College of Life Science, Shanxi Agricultural University, Taigu 030801, China
Key Words:Galleria mellonella; antennal transcriptome; high-throughput sequencing; gene annotation; olfaction-related genes; differentially expressed genes
Abstract:[Objectives] The greater waxmoth (Galleria
mellonella) is a ubiquitous pest of honeybee colonies and causes
significant economic losses to the global apicultural industry. The objective
of this study is to establish the antennal transcriptome database of G. mellonella and explore
olfaction-related gene data, which
could provide information useful facilitating the prevention and control of G. mellonella using olfaction-related gene targeting. [Methods] The antennal
transcriptome of G. mellonella adults
was sequenced using an Illumina HiSeqTM 2500 platform, analyzed
bioinformatically and successfully
assembled. [Results] In total, 188 278 unigenes with a mean
length of 781 bp and an N50 length of 1 161 bp were obtained. Of these unigenes,
108 047 unigenes were annotated using a BLAST search based on seven public
databases. 78 746 unigenes (41.82%) were annotated to the NR database. G. mellonella unigenes had the highest
similarity (18.4%) to those of Bombyx
mori. 69 794 unigenes were divided into 55 branches and three categories
(biological processes, cellular components and molecular function) using Gene
Ontology (GO), and many were found to be related to binding, catalytic activity
and metabolic processes. In the KEGG database, 14 699 unigenes were assigned to
231 known metabolic pathways. Among these, 2 401 unigenes (16.33%) are involved
in the signal transduction pathway. By further analyzing transcriptome data,
226 olfaction-related genes of G.
mellonella including 52 odorant binding protein (OBP) genes, 36
chemosensory protein (CSP) genes, 80 odorant receptor (OR) genes, 56 ionotropic
receptor (IR) genes and 2 sensory neuron membrane protein (SNMP) genes, were
identified. After comparison of the transcriptome of male and female antennae,
114 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) including 5 olfaction-related genes (OBP8, OBP17, CSP3, CSP34 and OR15) were screened. Of these DEGs, 66 genes were highly expressed
in the antennae of females and 48 in the antennae of males. [Conclusion] This study acquired the antennal
transcriptome data of G. mellonella and identified olfaction-related genes. The results provide a foundation for
the further study of gene functions and the molecular mechanisms of olfactory
reception in G. mellonella.