Jianying Li, Dongyue Zhang, Zhixian Zhang, Shili Meng, Bo Wang, Zhen Li, Xiaoxia Liu, Songdou Zhang
Polyphenism is a beneficial way in organisms to better cope with changing circumstances and is a hot topic in entomology, evolutionary biology, and ecology. Until now, this phenomenon has been proven to be season-, density-, and diet-dependent; however, there are very few reports on temperature regulation. showed seasonal polyphenism, namely as summer- and winter-form, with obvious diversity in phenotypic characteristics in response to seasonal variation. Previous studies have found that low temperature in autumn is an extremely important element in inducing summer-form change to winter-form, but the underlying regulatory mechanism is still a mystery. Herein, we provided the initial evidence that the third instar of the summer-form is the critical period for developing to the winter-form, and 10 °C induces this transition by affecting the total pigment, chitin level, and thickness of the cuticle. Second, was proven to function as a novel cold receptor to control this seasonal polyphenism. Moreover, miR-2765 was found to mediate seasonal polyphenism by inhibiting expression. Last, we found that cuticle binding proteins and function as the downstream signals of to regulate the seasonal polyphenism in . In conclusion, our results displayed a novel signal pathway of miR-2765 and for the regulation of seasonal polyphenism in . These findings provide insights into the comprehensive analysis of insect polyphenism and are useful in developing potential strategies to block the phase transition for the pest control of .
