AI Article Synopsis
- Many animals, including insects, can change their body color in response to environmental factors, with carotenoids playing a key role in this process.
- In the study using ladybird beetles (Harmonia axyridis), it was found that females under long-day conditions developed redder elytra due to higher carotenoid accumulation compared to those under short-day conditions.
- The research identified a gene (SCRB10) that acts as a carotenoid transporter influenced by juvenile hormone signaling, suggesting a novel link between endocrine regulation and color change in response to environmental cues.
Article Abstract
Many animals, including insects, exhibit plasticity of body colour in response to environmental changes. Varied expression of carotenoids, major cuticle pigments, significantly contributes to body colour flexibility. However, the molecular mechanisms by which environmental cues regulate carotenoid expression remain largely unknown. In this study, we used the ladybird Harmonia axyridis as a model to investigate the photoperiodic-responsive plasticity of elytra coloration and its endocrine regulation. It was found that H. axyridis females under long-day conditions develop elytra that are much redder than those under short-day conditions, resulting from the differential accumulation of carotenoids. Exogenous hormone application and RNAi-mediated gene knockdown indicate that carotenoid deposition was directed through the juvenile hormone (JH) receptor-mediated canonical pathway. Moreover, we characterized an SR-BI/CD36 (SCRB) gene SCRB10 as the carotenoid transporter responding to JH signalling and regulating the elytra coloration plasticity. Taken together, we propose that JH signalling transcriptionally regulates the carotenoid transporter gene for the photoperiodic coloration plasticity of elytra in the beetles, which reveals a novel role of the endocrine system in the regulation of carotenoid-associated animal body coloration under environmental stimuli.
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Article Synopsis
- Many animals, including insects, can change their body color in response to environmental factors, with carotenoids playing a key role in this process.
- In the study using ladybird beetles (Harmonia axyridis), it was found that females under long-day conditions developed redder elytra due to higher carotenoid accumulation compared to those under short-day conditions.
- The research identified a gene (SCRB10) that acts as a carotenoid transporter influenced by juvenile hormone signaling, suggesting a novel link between endocrine regulation and color change in response to environmental cues.
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