A feminizing switch in a hemimetabolous insect.

The mechanism of sex determination remains poorly understood in hemimetabolous insects. Here, in the brown planthopper (BPH), , a hemipteran rice pest, we identified a feminizing switch or a () that encodes a serine/arginine-rich protein. Knockdown of in female nymphs resulted in masculinization of both the somatic morphology and splicing.

[Isolation, identification and analysis of the expression profile of miRNAs in Aedes albopictus].

Objective: To verify the miRNA in Aedes albopictus and characterize the expression profile of several miRNAs across all the life stages of Aedes albopictus.

Methods: Based on the published miRNA sequences of Anopheles gambiae and Aedes aegypti, 6 DIG-labeled antisense probes were synthesized. The total RNAs from Aedes albopictus in 6 developmental stages (embryo, early larvae, late larvae, pupa, male and female adults) were extracted with a mirVana miRNA isolation kit, loaded onto 15% denaturing polyacrylamide gel and hybridized with the appropriate DIG-labeled probes.