20-hydroxyecdysone reprograms amino acid metabolism to support the metamorphic development of Helicoverpa armigera
Xiao-Pei Wang,
Shu-Peng Sun,
Yan-Xue Li,
Lin Wang,
Du-Juan Dong,
Jin-Xing Wang,
Xiao-Fan Zhao
Affiliations
Xiao-Pei Wang
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Cells and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Shu-Peng Sun
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Cells and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Yan-Xue Li
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Cells and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Lin Wang
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Cells and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Du-Juan Dong
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Cells and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Jin-Xing Wang
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Cells and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China
Xiao-Fan Zhao
Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Animal Cells and Developmental Biology, School of Life Sciences, Shandong University, Qingdao 266237, China; Corresponding author
Summary: Amino acid metabolism is regulated according to nutrient conditions; however, the mechanism is not fully understood. Using the holometabolous insect cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera) as a model, we report that hemolymph metabolites are greatly changed from the feeding larvae to the wandering larvae and to pupae. Arginine, alpha-ketoglutarate (α-KG), and glutamate (Glu) are identified as marker metabolites of feeding larvae, wandering larvae, and pupae, respectively. Arginine level is decreased by 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) regulation via repression of argininosuccinate synthetase (Ass) expression and upregulation of arginase (Arg) expression during metamorphosis. α-KG is transformed from Glu by glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH) in larval midgut, which is repressed by 20E. The α-KG is then transformed to Glu by GDH-like in pupal fat body, which is upregulated by 20E. Thus, 20E reprogrammed amino acid metabolism during metamorphosis by regulating gene expression in a stage- and tissue-specific manner to support insect metamorphic development.
