The alligator weed flea beetle, Agasicles hygrophila is a monophagous natural enemy of the invasive alligator weed Alternanthera philoxeroides. Oogenesis plays a vital role in the process of individual development and population continuation of oviparous insects. Sox is an ancient and ubiquitous metazoan gene family that plays a key regulatory role in various physiological processes, including oogenesis, which is closely related to fecundity. In this study, two Sox genes AhDichaete and AhSox3 were cloned and characterized, and then the expression profiles of AhDichaete and AhSox3 were qualified by a quantitative reverse transcription‐polymerase chain reaction. The result showed that these two Sox genes were expressed significantly higher in ovary, especially in the adult developmental stage. Furthermore, the functions of AhDichaete and AhSox3 in A. hygrophila females were studied using RNA interference (RNAi). Fewer offsprings were produced when AhDichaete and AhSox3 RNAi females mated with wild‐type males. Moreover, dsAhSox3 injection reduced the hatching rate of eggs but injection with dsAhDichaete did not. Further study of the reproductive system of AhDichaete and AhSox3 RNAi females showed that yolk protein deposition reduction in the ovarioles, then the expression of vitellogenin gene AhVg2 in ovaries was decreased. These results indicate that AhDichaete and AhSox3 play an important regulatory role in the process of ovarian development and oogenesis by affecting yolk synthesis in the ovary of A. hygrophila.

中文翻译：

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潮气无泡（Soleoptera：Chrysomelidae）中的Sox基因参与卵巢发育和卵子发生。

扬子鳄杂草跳蚤甲虫Agasicles hygrophila是侵入性扬子鳄杂草Alternanthera philoxeroides的单相天敌。卵生在卵生昆虫的个体发育和种群延续过程中起着至关重要的作用。Sox是一个古老而无处不在的后生动物基因家族，在各种生理过程（包括与生殖力密切相关的卵子发生）中起着关键的调节作用。本研究克隆并鉴定了两个Sox基因AhDichaete和AhSox3，然后分析了AhDichaete和AhSox3的表达谱。通过定量逆转录聚合酶链反应进行鉴定。结果表明，这两个Sox基因在卵巢中表达明显更高，尤其是在成年发育阶段。此外，功能AhDichaete和AhSox3在A.蓑衣使用RNA干扰（RNAi）进行了研究女性。当AhDichaete和AhSox3 RNAi雌性与野生型雄性交配时，产生的后代较少。此外，dsAhSox3注射降低了卵的孵化率，但dsAhDichaete注射却没有。对艾迪卡迪（AhDichaete）和AhSox3 RNAi雌性显示卵黄蛋白沉积在卵巢中减少，然后卵黄蛋白原基因AhVg2在卵巢中的表达降低。这些结果表明，AhDichaete和AhSox3通过影响卵巢卵黄合成起到卵巢发育和卵子发生过程中具有重要的调控作用A.蓑衣。