• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.54 no.4
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• pp.359-367
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• 2015

Physiological plasticity of insects can be closely related with their epigenetic change. This hypothesis was tested using a polyphagous lepidopteran insect, Spodoptera exigua, by assessing the effects of different diets on development and DNA methylation. Three different diets (Welsh onion (WO), Chinese cabbage (CC), artificial diet (AD)) were assessed by feeding a cohort of larvae from neonate to last instar. There were significant differences in larval developmental rate, pupal weight and adult emergence according to diet treatments. AD-fed larvae exhibited the fastest developmental rate along with the highest pupal weight and adult emergence. Among natural hosts, WO was more favorable for development of S. exigua than CC. Total hemolymph proteins and sugars in the last instar larvae were varied among different diets. Gene expression of an insulin-like peptide (SeILP1) presumably associated with development was also varied among diets. Cytosine methylation of genomic DNA was assessed using a monoclonal antibody. Genomic DNA of S. exigua larvae was methylated. DNA methylation was apparently varied among different diet-fed larvae. The facts that a cohort of S. exigua was differentiated in developmental rate and cytosine methylation by different diets suggest that epigenetic factor(s) may play a crucial role in the physiological plasticity.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.24 no.1 s.62
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• pp.45-50
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• 1985

The use of a modified procedure for the isolation of extrachromosomal DNA of low to high molecular weight, followed by agarose gel electrophoresis of the crude lysates, provided a simple screening procedure for detecting plasmids ranging in molecular weights from approximately 1 to more than 135 megadaltons from serovars of Bacillus thuringiensis. The procedure provides for a relatively large-volume stable lysate for isolation of plasmids for restriction endonuclease mapping and cloning procedures. The method was used for screening of plasm ids in 6 differenentially effective serovars of B. thuringiensis toxic to dipteran and lepidopteran insects. Relatively large plasmid DNAs of masses above 50 megadaltons (Mdal) were isolated from all of the serovars examined using this technique. The number of extrachromosomal DNAs detected in serovars of B. thuringiensis was 8 for israelensis, 10 for kurstaki, 13 for aizawai, 2 for dendrolimus, 1 for finitimus, and 6 for yunnanensis. Smaller plasmid DNAs were isolated in four of the six serovars that ranged in mass down to approximately 2 Mdal.