Ben-JNK signaling is required for host mortality during Periplaneta fuliginosa densovirus infection.

Background: Cockroaches are widely acknowledged as significant vectors of pathogenic microorganisms. The Periplaneta fuliginosa densovirus (PfDNV) infects the smoky-brown cockroach P. fuliginosa and causes host mortality, which identifies the PfDNV as a species-specific and environmentally friendly biopesticide.

Nutrition-dependent juvenile hormone sensitivity promotes flight-muscle degeneration during the aphid dispersal-reproduction transition.

In insects, the loss of flight typically involves a dispersal-reproduction transition, but the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. In the parthenogenetic pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum, winged females undergo flight-muscle degeneration after flight and feeding on new host plants. Similarly, topical application of a juvenile hormone (JH) mimic to starved aphids also induces flight-muscle degeneration.

The steroid-induced microRNA let-7 regulates developmental growth by targeting cdc7 in the Drosophila fat body.

In insects, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) limits systemic growth by triggering developmental transitions. Previous studies have shown that 20E-induced let-7 exhibits crosstalk with the cell cycle. Here, we examined the underlying molecular mechanisms and physiological functions of 20E-induced let-7 in the fat body, an organ for energy storage and nutrient mobilization which plays a critical role in the larval growth.

Grainy head signaling regulates epithelium development and ecdysis in Blattella germanica.

The transcription factor grainy head (Grh) functions in the protection of the epithelium against the external environment by generating strongly adhesive layers, and this function is conserved in vertebrates and invertebrates. In Drosophila, the top model for holometabolous insects, Grh is necessary during embryonic development, epidermal differentiation, central nervous system specification and epithelial repair. However, the function of this gene in hemimetabolous insect epithelia remains unknown.

Dual roles of juvenile hormone signaling during early oogenesis in Drosophila.

Juvenile hormone (JH) signaling plays crucial roles in insect metamorphosis and reproduction. Function of JH signaling in germline stem cells (GSCs) remains largely unknown. Here, we found that the number of GSCs significantly declined in the ovaries of Met, Gce and JHAMT mutants.