Lehmann, Sabrina, Atika, Bibi, Grossmann, Daniela, Schmitt-Engel, Christian, Strohlein, Nadi, Majumdar, Upalparna, Richter, Tobias, Weisskopf, Matthias, Ansari, Salim, Teuscher, Matthias, Hakeemi, Muhammad Salim, Li, Jianwei, Weissbecker, Bernhard, Klingler, Martin, Bucher, Gregor and Wimmer, Ernst A. (2022). Phenotypic screen and transcriptomics approach complement each other in functional genomics of defensive stink gland physiology. BMC Genomics, 23 (1). LONDON: BMC. ISSN 1471-2164

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Background Functional genomics uses unbiased systematic genome-wide gene disruption or analyzes natural variations such as gene expression profiles of different tissues from multicellular organisms to link gene functions to particular phenotypes. Functional genomics approaches are of particular importance to identify large sets of genes that are specifically important for a particular biological process beyond known candidate genes, or when the process has not been studied with genetic methods before. Results Here, we present a large set of genes whose disruption interferes with the function of the odoriferous defensive stink glands of the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum. This gene set is the result of a large-scale systematic phenotypic screen using RNA interference applied in a genome-wide forward genetics manner. In this first-pass screen, 130 genes were identified, of which 69 genes could be confirmed to cause phenotypic changes in the glands upon knock-down, which vary from necrotic tissue and irregular reservoir size to irregular color or separation of the secreted gland compounds. Gene ontology analysis revealed that many of those genes are encoding enzymes (peptidases and cytochromes P450) as well as proteins involved in membrane trafficking with an enrichment in lysosome and mineral absorption pathways. The knock-down of 13 genes caused specifically a strong reduction of para-benzoquinones in the gland reservoirs, suggesting a specific function in the synthesis of these toxic compounds. Only 14 of the 69 confirmed gland genes are differentially overexpressed in stink gland tissue and thus could have been detected in a transcriptome-based analysis. However, only one out of eight genes identified by a transcriptomics approach known to cause phenotypic changes of the glands upon knock-down was recognized by this phenotypic screen, indicating the limitation of such a non-redundant first-pass screen. Conclusion Our results indicate the importance of combining diverse and independent methodologies to identify genes necessary for the function of a certain biological tissue, as the different approaches do not deliver redundant results but rather complement each other. The presented phenotypic screen together with a transcriptomics approach are now providing a set of close to hundred genes important for odoriferous defensive stink gland physiology in beetles.

Item Type: Journal Article
Creators:
CreatorsEmailORCIDORCID Put Code
Lehmann, SabrinaUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Atika, BibiUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Grossmann, DanielaUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Schmitt-Engel, ChristianUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Strohlein, NadiUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Majumdar, UpalparnaUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Richter, TobiasUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Weisskopf, MatthiasUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Ansari, SalimUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Teuscher, MatthiasUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Hakeemi, Muhammad SalimUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Li, JianweiUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Weissbecker, BernhardUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Klingler, MartinUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Bucher, GregorUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
Wimmer, Ernst A.UNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIEDUNSPECIFIED
URN: urn:nbn:de:hbz:38-681652
DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-08822-z
Journal or Publication Title: BMC Genomics
Volume: 23
Number: 1
Date: 2022
Publisher: BMC
Place of Publication: LONDON
ISSN: 1471-2164
Language: English
Faculty: Unspecified
Divisions: Unspecified
Subjects: no entry
Uncontrolled Keywords:
KeywordsLanguage
RED FLOUR BEETLE; TRIBOLIUM-CASTANEUM; COLEOPTERA; SECRETIONS; RNAI; QUINONE; KEGG; EXTRACTION; DATABASE; INSECTMultiple languages
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology; Genetics & HeredityMultiple languages
URI: http://kups.ub.uni-koeln.de/id/eprint/68165

Downloads

Downloads per month over past year

Altmetric

Export

Actions (login required)

View Item View Item