Differential gene expression profiling in the developed ovaries between the parthenogenetic and bisexual female rice water weevils, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

The rice water weevil, Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus Kuschel (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), reproduces by sex in the Southeastern United States, but reproduces by parthenogenesis in California and other invaded regions in Asia and Europe. The objective of this study was to create a parthenogenetic gene expression profile of the rice water weevil in order to gain a better insight into the molecular mechanisms of parthenogenesis in the weevil. Suppression subtractive hybridization (SSH) technique was employed for profiling differential gene expression in the developed ovary between the parthenogenetic and bisexual female rice water weevils. A total of 70 contigs were obtained, and the BLASTX search identified putatively 28 genes with differential functions. According to the cytological process of parthenogenesis, the tubulin alpha-1 chain and signal transduction genes etc. were selected for real time quantitative RT-PCR analyses, and their possible functions related to the molecular mechanism of parthenogenesis were discussed. The tubulin alpha-1 chain and some signal transduction genes may be related to the molecular mechanisms of parthenogenesis of the rice water weevil.