As a member of the low‐density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR) superfamily, vitellogenin (Vg) receptor (VgR) is responsible for the uptake of Vg into developing oocytes and is a potential target for pest control. Here, a full‐length VgR complementary DNA (named as CsVgR) was isolated and characterized in the rice stem borer, Chilo suppressalis. The composite CsVgR gene contained an open reading frame of 5,484 bp encoding a protein of 1,827 amino acid residues. Structural analysis revealed that CsVgR contained two ligand‐binding domains (LBDs) with four Class A (LDLR_A) repeats in LBD1 and seven in LBD2, which was structurally different from most non‐Lepidopteran insect VgRs having five repeats in LBD1 and eight in LBD2. The developmental expression analysis showed that CsVgR messenger RNA expression was first detectable in 3‐day‐old pupae, sharply increased in newly emerged female adults, and reached a peak in 2‐day‐old female adults. Consistent with most other insects VgRs, CsVgR was exclusively expressed in the ovary. Notably, injection of dsCsVgR into late pupae resulted in fewer follicles in the ovarioles as well as reduced fecundity, suggesting a critical role of CsVgR in female reproduction. These results may contribute to the development of RNA interference‐mediated disruption of reproduction as a control strategy of C. suppressalis.

中文翻译：

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稻stem中卵黄蛋白原受体的分子表征和功能分析。

作为低密度脂蛋白受体（LDLR）超家族的成员，卵黄蛋白原（Vg）受体（VgR）负责将Vg吸收到发育中的卵母细胞中，并可能是有害生物控制的目标。在此，在水稻stem虫Chilo inhibitoralis中分离并鉴定了全长VgR互补DNA（称为CsVgR）。复合CsVgR基因包含一个5,484 bp的开放阅读框，编码一个1,827个氨基酸残基的蛋白质。结构分析表明CsVgR包含两个配体结合域（LBD）和四个A类（LDLR _A）在LBD1中重复，在LBD2中重复7次，这与大多数非鳞翅目昆虫VgR在结构上有所不同，在LBD1中重复5次，在LBD2中重复8次。发育表达分析表明，CsVgR信使RNA表达首先在3天大的up中检测到，在新生的成年雌性中急剧增加，并在2天大的成年雌性中达到峰值。与大多数其他昆虫VgR一致，CsVgR仅在卵巢中表达。值得注意的是，将dsCsVgR注入into后期会导致卵巢中的卵泡减少，并且生殖力降低，这表明CsVgR的关键作用在女性生殖中。这些结果可能有助于RNA干扰介导的繁殖破坏的发展，作为抑制隐孢子虫的控制策略。