Cloning of eight Rhopalosiphum padi (Hemiptera: Aphididae) nAChR subunit genes and mutation detection of the β1 subunit in field samples from China

• Seven α-subunit genes of nAChRs from Rhopalsiphum padi were successfully cloned and characterized.
• Alternative splicing was detected in Rpα3 and Rpα5 subunits of R. padi nAChRs.
• 17 SNPs in the functional extracellular regions of Rpβ1 were found, seven of which resulted in amino acid polymorphisms.

The bird cherry-oat aphid, Rhopalosiphum padi (L.), is one of the most important wheat pests. This aphid damages through direct feeding and by transmitting the Barley yellow dwarf virus (BYDV). Both types of damage significantly reduce the quality and yield of wheat crops globally. Insecticides are the primary method of controlling the bird cherry-oat aphid in China, yet this aphid species has developed resistance to different types of insecticides, especially organophosphates and carbamates. In the last decade, control of R. padi depends primarily on the spray of neonicotinoid insecticides, however, research on the resistance of R. padi to neonicotinoids has been limited. In this study, the full lengths of seven α-subunit (Rpα1, Rpα2, Rpα3, Rpα4, Rpα5, Rpα7-1, and Rpα7-2) and one β-subunit (Rpβ1) genes from R. padi were obtained with RT-PCR and RACE techniques. Sequence analysis showed that these genes had all the characteristics of the nAChR gene family and were highly homologous with the reported nAChR genes from other insects, and alternative splicing was detected in Rpα3 and Rpα5 subunits. Analysis of the cDNA sequence of the extracellular region of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor β1 subunit gene from 120 R. padi field samples collected in 11 Provinces revealed 17 single nucleotides polymorphism (SNP) sites, of which seven were amino acid polymorphism sites (V53I, V53G, N54T, A60T, F61L, W79C, and V83I) and two were in the loop D region (W79C and V83I). The current study will facilitate further studies on the molecular mechanisms of targeted resistance of the aphid to neonicotinoid insecticides.

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