Lipid metabolism in diapause

Wednesday, November 16, 2022

9:20 AM – 9:35 AM PT

Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Meeting Room 121

Presenting Author(s)

Umut Toprak

Associate Professor
Ankara University
Ankara, Ankara, Turkey

Co-author(s)

GG

Gozde Guney

Ankara University
Ankara, Ankara, Turkey

Co-Author(s)

Cansu Doğan

Graduate Research Assistant
Ankara University
Ankara, Ankara, Turkey

Co-author(s)

DC

Doğa Cedden

Ankara University
Ankara, Ankara, Turkey

Co-Author(s)

�B

Şerife Bayram

Emeritus professor
Ankara University
Ankara, Ankara, Turkey
Russell Groves

Professor and Department Chair
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin

Co-author(s)

DH

David Heckel

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
Jena, Thuringen, Germany
DH

Dwayne Hegedus

Research Scientist
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Diapause is a physiologically dormant stage to overcome freezing or hot temperatures and long‐term food deprivation. Diapause might be in the form of summer (aestivation) or winter (hibernation) dormancy. Nonetheless, successful maintenance of diapause is critical for insect life, which is dependent on the nutrient resources stored prior to diapause. In this manner, lipids play an essential role and serve as the primary nutrient source in many insects. The Colorado potato beetle (CPB), Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), the major pest of potato worldwide, overcomes tough winter conditions through hibernation diapause at adult stage and emerge by spring. We addressed several fundamental questions, “how CPB manages its lipid metabolism prior to, during and after diapause?” and “What are the key genetical actors of lipid metabolism?”. We focused on the fat body, the primary site of lipid metabolism in insects. Generation of cDNA libraries from the fat body of feeding, hibernating adults and adults emerged from hibernation was followed by proteome and fatty acid analyses. Real time PCR analysis and RNAi were also used. Our investigations revealed a sophisticated metabolism program that is controlled at transcriptional and post-transcriptional levels accompanied by secondary messengers, such as calcium. Primary genes are perilipins, acetyl CoA carboxylase, fatty acid synthase, lipases, and those interfere with calcium homeostasis. Although the CPB accumulates significant amounts of lipid at larval stage, lipid metabolism during pre-hibernation at adult stage is likely to be critical for maintenance of diapause and post-emergence following diapause. This Research was supported by TÜBİTAK (Grant #:118O976).