S‐Adenosyl‐l‐methionine‐dependent methyltransferases (SAMMTases) modulate important cellular and metabolic activities in both prokaryotes and eukaryotes. Here, we functionally characterized an SAMMTase gene (MTase15) in the migratory brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, which is the most notorious rice pest in Asia. The cDNA sequence of MTase15 is 2764 nt in length with an open reading frame of 1218 nt encoding 405 amino acid residues. Quantitative real‐time PCR analysis showed that MTase15 was readily detected from egg to adult stages and extensively distributed in various body parts of adult females and males, with slightly high levels in ovary and testis, respectively. In addition, MTase15 was transcriptionally regulated by the insulin signalling pathway in BPH. RNA‐interference‐mediated knockdown of MTase15 (dsMtase15) resulted in deficiencies in vitellogenin synthesis and oogenesis, and female infertility. Males with Mtase15 knockdown retained the capability of producing sperms with normal viability, but less sperm was transferred to wild‐type (wt) females during copulation, and eggs laid by these wt females arrested embryogenesis. These findings not only assign a functional role to MTase15, but also provide a link between the insulin signalling pathway and epigenetic regulation in BPH reproduction.

中文翻译：

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MTase15调节双翅飞虱（Nilaparvata lugens）（半翅目：Delphacidae）中的繁殖。

S-腺苷-1-蛋氨酸依赖性甲基转移酶（SAMMTases）调节原核生物和真核生物中重要的细胞和代谢活性。在这里，我们在功能上表征了游走性褐飞虱（BPH）褐飞虱（Nilaparvata lugens）中的SAMMTase基因（MTase15），后者是亚洲最臭名昭著的水稻害虫。MTase15的cDNA序列长度为2764 nt，开放阅读框为1218 nt，编码405个氨基酸残基。实时定量PCR分析表明，从蛋到成年阶段都容易检测到MTase15，并且MTase15广泛分布于成年雌性和雄性的各个身体部位，分别在卵巢和睾丸中含量较高。此外，MTase15受BPH中胰岛素信号通路的转录调控。RNA干扰介导的MTase15（ds Mtase15）的敲低导致卵黄蛋白原合成和卵子形成以及女性不育的缺陷。敲除Mtase15的雄性保留了产生具有正常生存能力的精子的能力，但是在交配过程中，较少的精子被转移到野生型（wt）雌性中，这些wt雌性产下的卵阻止了胚胎发生。这些发现不仅赋予MTase15功能性作用，而且还为BPH繁殖中胰岛素信号传导途径与表观遗传调控之间提供了联系。