Genetics and Genomics Commons^™

Assessing The Role Of Drosophila Melanogaster Neuroligin 3 On Social Spacing And Climbing Behaviour, J. Wesley Robinson

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Autism spectrum disorders can be clinically defined in part by impairments of social interactions. Social interactions can be modeled in Drosophila melanogaster with behaviours such as social spacing. Here, I examined the effects of autism-related gene neuroligin 3 on fly social spacing. I hypothesized if neuroligin 3 is mutated or gene expression is targeted for knockdown, then flies will have altered social space in males and females at different ages. Using the social space assay, I found that different mutations to neuroligin 3 change the fly’s behavior, in a mutation and sex-specific manner. Using an antibody against Nlg3, I localized …

Fate Of Ingested Rna In The Two-Spotted Spider Mite, Obrie D. Scarbrough

Honors Theses

RNA interference, or RNAi, is a gene regulation mechanism that uses small noncoding RNAs (sRNAs) to silence the expression of certain genes. The application of RNAi has been extended to insect pest control. The two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae is a persistent agricultural pest that tends to develop pesticide resistance at an alarming rate, making it a perfect candidate for RNAi technology development. It was hypothesized that unique sRNAs could be isolated from RNA soaked spider mites, and new synthetic RNAs could be synthesized to elicit greater knockdown than was achieved in previous studies. To perform this research, a small …

Rna Interference And Validation Of Reference Genes For Gene Expression Analyses Using Qpcr In Southern Pine Beetle, Dendroctonus Frontalis, Bethany R. Kyre, Thais B. Rodrigues, Lynne K. Rieske

Entomology Faculty Publications

RNA interference (RNAi) is a highly specific gene-silencing mechanism that can cause rapid insect mortality when essential genes are targeted. RNAi is being developed as a tool for integrated pest management of some crop pests. Here we focus on an aggressive forest pest that kills extensive tracts of pine forests, the southern pine beetle (SPB), Dendroctonus frontalis. We sought to identify reference genes for quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR) and validate RNAi responses in SPB by mortality and gene silencing analysis. Using an adult beetle feeding bioassay for oral ingestion of dsRNA, we measured the expression and demonstrated knockdown of …

Molecular Evolutionary Trends And Feeding Ecology Diversification In The Hemiptera, Anchored By The Milkweed Bug Genome, Kristen A. Panfilio, Iris M. Vargas Jentzsch, Joshua B. Benoit, Deniz Erezyilmaz, Yuichiro Suzuki, Stefano Colella, Hugh M. Robertson, Monica F. Poelchau, Robert M. Waterhouse, Panagiotis Ioannidis, Matthew T. Weirauch, Daniel S. T. Hughes, Shwetha C. Murali, John H. Werren, Chris G. C. Jacobs, Elizabeth J. Duncan, David Armisén, Barbara M. I. Vreede, Patrice Baa-Puyoulet, Chloé S. Berger, Chun-Che Chang, Hsu Chao, Mei-Ju M. Chen, Yen-Ta Chen, Christopher P. Childers, Ariel D. Chipman, Andrew G. Cridge, Antonin J. J. Crumière, Peter K. Dearden, Elise M. Didion, Subba Reddy Palli, Jayendra Nath Shukla

Entomology Faculty Publications

Background: The Hemiptera (aphids, cicadas, and true bugs) are a key insect order, with high diversity for feeding ecology and excellent experimental tractability for molecular genetics. Building upon recent sequencing of hemipteran pests such as phloem-feeding aphids and blood-feeding bed bugs, we present the genome sequence and comparative analyses centered on the milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus, a seed feeder of the family Lygaeidae.

Results: The 926-Mb Oncopeltus genome is well represented by the current assembly and official gene set. We use our genomic and RNA-seq data not only to characterize the protein-coding gene repertoire and perform isoform-specific RNAi, but …