ArticleMolecular biology and evolution2026
Parallel expansion of trehalose transporter genes integrates intestinal energy metabolism with developmental growth in lepidopteran insects.
Article in Molecular biology and evolution, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Trehalose is the principal circulating sugar in insects, yet how diversification of its transport system contributes to metabolic adaptability is unclear. Here, comparative genomics across 194 insect species reveals recurrent expansion of the trehalose transporter Tret1, with Lepidoptera retaining a conserved tandem duplication that generated two paralogs, Tret1-1 and Tret1-2. Functional analyses suggest a differentiated functional relationship between them: BmTret1-1 is indispensable for systemic trehalose flux, midgut integrity, and larval growth, whereas BmTret1-2 is highly expressed in the brain and may serve as a compensatory paralog of BmTret1-1. By integrating multiomics, single-nucleus transcriptomics, and functional assays, we further show that loss of BmTret1-1 is associated with altered intestinal stem cell to enterocyte (EC) differentiation dynamics, accompanied by reduced EC abundance, thereby linking nutrient transport capacity to epithelial renewal and organismal growth. Together with the parallel expansion of trehalase genes, our findings reveal a general framework in which coordinated expansion and functional cooperation of the trehalose transport-catabolism axis contribute to metabolic homeostasis in Lepidoptera. This study offers novel insights into the evolution of insect trehalose metabolism.
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