Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid that targets sucking pests, such as aphids and the green leaf bug and has been widely applied in wheat fields to control wheat aphids in China. To investigate the involvement of miRNAs in imidacloprid resistance, we sequenced small RNA libraries of Sitobion miscanthi Fabricius, across two different treatments using Illumina short-read sequencing technology. As a result, 265 microRNAs (miRNAs), of which 242 were known and 23 were novel, were identified. Quantitative analysis of miRNA levels showed that 23 miRNAs were significantly up-regulated, and 54 miRNAs were significantly down-regulated in the nymphs of S. miscanthi treated with imidacloprid in comparison with those of the control. Modulation of the abundances of differentially expressed miRNAs, smi-miR-316, smi-miR-1000, and smi-miR-iab-4 by the addition of the corresponding antagomir/inhibitor to the artificial diet significantly changed the susceptibility of S. miscanthi to imidacloprid. Subsequently, the post-transcriptional regulatory mechanism was conducted, smi-miR-278 and smi-miR-316 were confirmed to be participated in the post-transcriptional regulation of nAChRα1A and CYP4CJ6, respectively. The results suggested that miRNAs differentially expressed in response to imidacloprid could play a critical regulatory role in the metabolism of S. miscanthi to imidacloprid.

吡虫啉是一种新烟碱类杀虫剂，主要针对蚜虫和绿叶虫等吸吮害虫，在我国已广泛应用于麦田防治小麦蚜虫。为了研究 miRNA 在吡虫啉抗性中的参与，我们使用 Illumina 短读长测序技术在两种不同的处理中对Sitobion miscanthi Fabricius 的小 RNA 文库进行了测序。结果，鉴定了 265 个 microRNA (miRNA)，其中 242 个是已知的，23 个是新的。miRNA水平定量分析表明，芒草若虫中有23种miRNA显着上调，54种miRNA显着下调与对照组相比，吡虫啉处理。通过在人工饮食中添加相应的 antagomir/抑制剂来调节差异表达的 miRNA、smi-miR-316、smi-miR-1000 和 smi-miR-iab-4 的丰度显着改变了S. miscanthi的易感性吡虫啉。随后进行转录后调控机制，证实smi-miR-278和smi-miR-316分别参与了nAChRα1A和CYP4CJ6的转录后调控。结果表明，响应吡虫啉差异表达的 miRNA 可能在S. miscanthi代谢为吡虫啉中发挥关键调节作用。