Molecular characterization of insulin‐like peptides in the brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae)

Abstract Insulin‐like peptides (ILPs) including insulin, insulin‐like growth factor (IGF) and relaxin are evolutionarily conserved hormones in metazoans, and they are involved in diverse physiological processes. The migratory brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens , encodes four ILP genes ( Nlilp1 , Nlilp2 , Nlilp3 and Nlilp4 ) but their physiological roles are largely unknown. Sequence analysis showed that Nl ILP1 contained a relaxin‐specific G protein‐coupled receptor‐binding motif and a variant motif of cysteine residues, and Nl ILP2 and Nl ILP4 resembled vertebrate IGFs. RNA interference (RNAi)‐mediated gene silencing showed that depletion of each of Nlilp1 , 2 and 3 significantly delayed the developmental duration of nymphs, and this effect could be exacerbated by double or triple gene depletion. Depletion of Nlilp1 , Nlilp2 or Nlilp3 induces the accumulation of glucose, trehalose and glycogen, which is contradictory to depletion of the insulin receptor ( NlInR1 ) in the BPH. Depletion of Nlilp1 significantly enhanced starvation resistance in both females and males although its extent was smaller than NlInR1 depletion. A parental RNAi assay showed that depletion of each of Nlilp1–4 dramatically impaired female fecundity. These findings indicate that Nl ILP1–4 have redundant and distinct roles in physiological processes in the BPH, thereby enhancing our understanding of the contribution of each Nl ILP to the ecological success of this species in natural habitats.