Juvenile hormone (JH) is responsible for repressing larval metamorphosis and inducing vitellogenesis and egg production in insects. Methoprene-tolerant (Met) is known to be an intracellular receptor and transducer of JH. We examined the role of Met in ovarian development in the rice pest Sogatella furcifera (Horváth). We first cloned and sequenced S. furcifera Met (SfMet). The SfMet protein belongs to the basic helix-loop-helix/Per-Arnt-Sim (bHLH-PAS) family with a bHLH domain and two PAS domains (PAS-A and PAS-B). SfMet was expressed in all developmental stages and tissues but was most highly expressed in the ovaries of adult females. Furthermore, RNA interference (RNAi) mediated silencing of SfMet substantially reduced the expression of SfVg, decreased yolk protein deposition and blocked oocyte maturation and ovarian development. These results demonstrate that SfMet plays a key role in female reproduction in S. furcifera and suggest that targeting this gene could be an effective way of controlling this pest.

中文翻译：

---

降低甲氧戊丁醚阻遏茄子（半翅目：Delphacidae）中卵巢发育的能力。

少年激素（JH）负责抑制幼虫变态，并诱导昆虫的卵黄发生和产卵。耐甲氧戊二烯（Met）是JH的细胞内受体和传感器。我们在水稻害虫Sogatella furcifera（Horváth）中研究了蛋氨酸在卵巢发育中的作用。我们首先克隆和测序了S. furcifera Met（SfMet）。SfMet蛋白属于基本的螺旋-环-螺旋/ Per-Arnt-Sim（bHLH-PAS）家族，具有bHLH域和两个PAS域（PAS-A和PAS-B）。SfMet在所有发育阶段和组织中都有表达，但在成年女性的卵巢中表达最高。此外，RNA干扰（RNAi）介导的SfMet沉默大大降低了SfVg的表达，减少了卵黄蛋白的沉积并阻止了卵母细胞的成熟和卵巢的发育。