ArticleBMC genomics2025
Alternative splicing fine-tunes prey shift of Coccinellini lady beetles to non-target insect.
Article in BMC genomics, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
10 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCoccinellini lady beetles have been applied as biological control agent of aphids, however, not all of these species are obligately aphidophagous. Thus, a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind predaceous specificity of Coccinellini lady beetles can provide important clues for evaluating their performance and ecological risk assessment in biological control. Post-transcriptional regulations act a key role in shaping organisms' rapid adaptation to changing environment, yet, little is known about their role in the acclimation of Coccinellini lady beetles to non-target preys.
resultsIn this study, we conducted a genome-wide investigation to alternative splicing (AS) dynamics in three Coccinellini species Propylea japonica, Coccinella septempunctata and Harmonia axyridis in response to feeding shift from natural prey bean aphids (Megoura japonica) to non-target insect citrus mealybugs (Planococcus citri). Compared to aphid-feeding, all three lady beetles were subject to substantial splicing changes when preying on mealybugs. Most of these differentially spliced genes (DSGs) were not differentially expressed, and regulated different pathways from differentially expressed genes, indicating the functionally nonredundant role of AS. The DSGs were primarily associated with energy derivation, organ formation and development, chemosensation and immune responses, which may promote tolerance of lady beetles to nutrient deprivation and pathogen challenges induced by prey shift. The lady beetles feeding on mealybugs moreover downregulated the generation of splicing products containing premature termination codons (PTCs) for the genes involved in energy derivation and stimulus responses, to fine-tune their protein expression and rationalize energy allocation.
conclusionThese findings unraveled the functional significance of AS reprogramming in modulating acclimation of Coccinellini lady beetles to prey shift from aphids to non-target insects and provided new genetic clues for evaluating their ecological safety as biological control agents.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.