Reversible acetylation of core histones plays an important role in the epigenetic regulation of gene transcription, and is controlled by the action of histone acetyltransferases (HATs) and histone deacetylases (HDACs). While HDACs have been well studied in Drosophila melanogaster, information from insect pests is still limited. In the current study, we cloned and characterized three class I enzymes, TcHDAC1, TcHDAC 3 and TcHDAC 8, in the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum. Expression profiling showed that T. castaneum HDAC genes are expressed in all developmental stages and tissues examined. A dramatic increase of mRNA expression level was observed from prepupae to 1-day-old pupae for all three T. castaneum HDAC genes. Both TcHDAC1 and TcHDAC3 exhibited the highest mRNA expression levels in thorax, whereas TcHDAC8 was highly expressed in fat body. Furthermore, T. castaneum HDAC genes were found to respond to heat, cold and oxidative stresses. While the heat-stress treatment decreased the mRNA expression levels of T. castaneum HDAC genes, their transcripts were induced by paraquat treatment. These results suggest a possible role for class I HDAC genes in the epigenetic regulation of T. castaneum development and stress responses.

中文翻译：

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I类组蛋白去乙酰化酶的分子特征及其在红粉甲虫 Tribolium castaneum 中对热和氧化应激反应的表达

核心组蛋白的可逆乙酰化在基因转录的表观遗传调控中起重要作用，并受组蛋白乙酰转移酶 (HAT) 和组蛋白脱乙酰酶 (HDAC) 的作用控制。虽然在黑腹果蝇中对 HDAC 进行了很好的研究，但来自害虫的信息仍然有限。在当前的研究中，我们克隆并表征了红面甲虫 Tribolium castaneum 中的三种 I 类酶 TcHDAC1、TcHDAC 3 和 TcHDAC 8。表达谱显示 T. castaneum HDAC 基因在所有发育阶段和检查的组织中均有表达。对于所有三个 T. castaneum HDAC 基因，从预蛹到 1 日龄蛹观察到 mRNA 表达水平的显着增加。TcHDAC1 和 TcHDAC3 在胸腔中均表现出最高的 mRNA 表达水平，而 TcHDAC8 在脂肪体中高表达。此外，发现 T. castaneum HDAC 基因对热、冷和氧化应激作出反应。虽然热应激处理降低了 T. castaneum HDAC 基因的 mRNA 表达水平，但它们的转录本是由百草枯处理诱导的。这些结果表明 I 类 HDAC 基因在 T. castaneum 发育和应激反应的表观遗传调控中可能发挥作用。