| Clock genes and their role in diapause of Trichogramma brassicae |
| Paper ID : 1089-3IICE (R1) |
| Authors: |
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somayeh rahimi-kaldeh1, sajedeh sarlak *1, ahmad ashouri1, Kenji Tomioka2 1Plant protection department, College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Iran 2Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Faculty of Science, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan |
| Abstract: |
| Diapause is a seasonal behavior which is likely to be under the influence of circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythm is 24-h oscillations in behavior and physiology of insects, which are internally generated and function to anticipate the environmental changes associated with the solar day. Although diapause behavior is known to be under genetic control, less is known regarding which genes are involved in diapause of Trichogramma wasps. In this study, we attempted to shed light on associations between photoperiod and diapause in Trichogramma brassicae by employing clock genes. We, therefore, selected 5 candidate genes (clk, cyc, cry2, per, and timeout) reported to have a function influencing on the circadian clock. Then the candidate circadian clock genes of T. brassicae were sequenced and quantitative real-time PCR was performed to measure mRNA levels. A melting curve was recorded at the end of the PCR amplification to confirm that a unique transcript product had been amplified. Candidate gene expression was normalized by the geometric mean of the expression level of housekeeping gene (Egf1). According to our results, higher clock gene expression in the T. brassicae results in a higher rate of entering diapause state. Our results suggest that there is a molecular link between the expression level of clock genes and the occurrence of diapause. |
| Keywords: |
| Circadian clock genes, diapause, egg parasitoid, photoperiod |
| Status : Paper Accepted (Poster Presentation) |
