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Functional characterization of the Drosophila suzukii pro-apoptotic genes reaper, head involution defective and grim

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Abstract

Apoptosis is a fundamental process for the elimination of damaged or unwanted cells, and is a key aspect of development. It is triggered by pro-apoptotic genes responding to the intrinsic pathway that senses cell stress or the extrinsic pathway that responds to signals from other cells. The disruption of these genes can therefore lead to developmental defects and disease. Pro-apoptotic genes have been studied in detail in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, a widely-used developmental model. However, little is known about the corresponding genes in its relative D. suzukii, a pest of soft fruit crops that originates from Asia but is now an invasive species in many other regions. The characterization of D. suzukii pro-apoptotic genes could lead to the development of transgenic sexing strains for pest management. Here, we describe the isolation and characterization of the pro-apoptotic genes reaper (Dsrpr), head involution defective (Dshid) and grim (Dsgrim) from a laboratory strain of D. suzukii. We determined their expression profiles during development, revealing that all three genes are expressed throughout development but Dsrpr is expressed most strongly, especially at the pupal stage. Functional analysis was carried out by expressing single genes or pairs (linked by a 2A peptide) in S2 cell death assays, indicating that Dsgrim and Dshid are more potent pro-apoptotic genes than Dsrpr, and the lethality can be significantly enhanced by co-expression of two genes. Therefore, the binary or multiple expression of different pro-apoptotic genes can be considered to build an efficient transgenic sexing system in D. suzukii.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Bashir Hosseini for technical assistance and Carl Stein for the help with RT-PCR. S2 cells were thankfully received by Dr. Denise Salzig (THM). This work was supported by the Emmy Noether program of the German Research Foundation (SCHE 1833/1-1; to MFS), the Fraunhofer Attract program (‘Applications for population control of D. suzukii’; to MFS), and the LOEWE Center for Insect Biotechnology and Bioresources of the HMWK.

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  1. Institute for Insect Biotechnology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Winchesterstraße 2, 35394, Giessen, Germany

    Syeda A. Jaffri, Ying Yan & Marc F. Schetelig

  2. Fraunhofer IME-BR, Winchesterstraße 2, 35394, Giessen, Germany

    Jonas Schwirz & Marc F. Schetelig

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  1. Syeda A. Jaffri
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  2. Ying Yan
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SAJ, YY and JS performed the research. YY and MFS conceived the study. SAJ, YY and MFS analyzed data and wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ying Yan or Marc F. Schetelig.

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The GenBank accession numbers are as follows: Dshid mRNA: MN982930; Dsgrim mRNA: MN982931; and Dsrpr mRNA: MN982932.

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Jaffri, S.A., Yan, Y., Schwirz, J. et al. Functional characterization of the Drosophila suzukii pro-apoptotic genes reaper, head involution defective and grim. Apoptosis 25, 864–874 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10495-020-01640-2

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