Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata is a serious pest of Solanaceae and Cucurbitaceae in many Asian countries. RNA interference (RNAi) can effectively reduce transcript abundance in this beetle, offering opportunities to explore the biological function of specific genes. The white gene encodes a half‐type ATP‐binding cassette transporter that plays an essential role in tryptophan, guanine and uric acid transport across membranes. Mutations that disrupt the function of white are known to cause eye pigmentation phenotypes in many insect species. Here, we found evidence for five white gene paralogues present in H. vigintioctopunctata transcriptome datasets sequenced from a range of developmental stages. We individually knocked down each of the five white genes through the injection of corresponding double‐stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) to the fourth‐instar larvae to determine whether functional divergence has occurred. We found that injecting 1 μg dswhite3 caused compound eye colour of pupae and adults to develop as red/brown and brown, respectively, compared with black eyes in control beetles. Injection of 2 μg dswhite3 increased RNAi efficacy and produced a clearer eye colour phenotype. At both doses, the ocular diaphragm (a ring of black pigment surrounding each eye) did not change in the white3 RNAi hypomorphs. Moreover, our data revealed that injection of dswhite2 at the fourth‐instar larval stage impaired the climbing ability of both male and female adults. Our results confirmed, for the first time, functional divergence of duplicated white genes in an insect species.

中文翻译：

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RNA干扰揭示了Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata中白色基因的功能差异。

Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata是许多亚洲国家的茄科和葫芦科的一种严重害虫。RNA干扰（RNAi）可以有效降低该甲虫的转录本丰度，为探索特定基因的生物学功能提供了机会。的白色基因编码半型ATP结合盒转运播放在色氨酸，鸟嘌呤和跨膜尿酸转运中起重要作用。已知破坏白色功能的突变会在许多昆虫中引起眼睛色素沉着的表型。在这里，我们发现了从一系列发育阶段测序的H. vigintioctopunctata转录组数据集中存在的五个白色基因旁系同源物的证据。我们分别击倒了五个白的基因通过对应的双链RNA（dsRNA的）至第四龄幼虫的注射，以确定是否已发生功能分化。我们发现，与对照甲虫中的黑眼相比，注射1μgds white3会使of和成虫的复合眼颜色分别发展为红/棕和棕。注射2μgds white3可提高RNAi效力并产生更清晰的眼睛颜色表型。在这两种剂量下，眼膜（每只眼睛周围的黑色颜料环）的white3 RNAi亚型都没有变化。此外，我们的数据显示，注入ds white2在四龄幼虫阶段，成年男性和女性的攀爬能力均受到损害。我们的结果首次证实了昆虫物种中重复的白色基因的功能差异。