AUTHOR=Yang Zezhong , Xia Jixing , Pan Huipeng , Gong Cheng , Xie Wen , Guo Zhaojiang , Zheng Huixin , Yang Xin , Yang Fengshan , Wu Qingjun , Wang Shaoli , Zhang Youjun 

TITLE=Genome-Wide Characterization and Expression Profiling of Sugar Transporter Family in the Whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Physiology

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2017

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/physiology/articles/10.3389/fphys.2017.00322

DOI=10.3389/fphys.2017.00322

ISSN=1664-042X

ABSTRACT=<p>Sugar transporters (<italic>STs</italic>) play pivotal roles in the growth, development, and stress responses of phloem-sucking insects, such as the whitefly, <italic>Bemisia tabaci</italic>. In this study, 137 sugar transporters (<italic>STs</italic>) were identified based on analysis of the genome and transcriptome of <italic>B. tabaci</italic> MEAM1. <italic>B. tabaci</italic> MEAM1 encodes a larger number of <italic>STs</italic> than other selected insects. Phylogenetic and molecular evolution analysis showed that the 137 <italic>STs</italic> formed three expanded clades and that the genes in Sternorrhyncha expanded clades had accelerated rates of evolution. <italic>B. tabaci</italic> sugar transporters (<italic>BTSTs</italic>) were divided into three groups based on their expression profiles across developmental stages; however, no host-specific <italic>BTST</italic> was found in <italic>B. tabaci</italic> fed on different host plants. Feeding of <italic>B. tabaci</italic> adults with feeding diet containing dsRNA significantly reduced the transcript level of the target genes in <italic>B. tabaci</italic> and mortality was significantly improved in <italic>B. tabaci</italic> fed on dsRNA compared to the control, which indicates the sugar transporters may be used as potential RNAi targets for <italic>B. tabaci</italic> bio-control. These results provide a foundation for further studies of <italic>STs</italic> in <italic>B. tabaci</italic>.</p>