bioRxiv Science⌕ Search
Home/Archive/bioRxiv

bioRxiv · 10.1101/481523

Decoding the reproductive system of the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae

Gregoriou, M.-E.·Reczko, M.·Tsoumani, K.·Mathiopoulos, K.
View original source ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

A great deal of behavioral and molecular interactions between male and female insects takes place during insect reproduction. Here, we comprehensively analyze the reproductive system of the olive fruit fly. Specifically, transcriptomic and genomic analysis of the reproductive tissues from virgin and once mated insects were performed. Genes encoding proteins implicated in immune response, mucins, antigen 5 proteins, proteases inhibitors and proteins with putative secretory activity were identified. Comparison of the transcriptomes between virgin and mated insects resulted in the identification of genes that are up- or down-regulated after mating. In testes 106 genes were up-regulated and 344 genes were down-regulated, whereas in male accessory glands with ejaculatory bulb 1,607 genes were up-regulated and 384 genes were down-regulated in mated male insects. Respectively, in mated females 1,705 genes were up-regulated and 120 genes were down-regulated in mated insects. To get a deeper insight, the expression profiles of selected genes throughout sexual maturation for the male tissues and throughout different time points after mating for the female reproductive tissues were determined. Identification of genes that take part in the mating procedure not only gives an insight in the biology of the insects, but it could also help the identification of new target genes in order to disturb the reproductive success of the olive fly and thus develop alternative pest control method.

Source connections

Explore related subjects

molecular biologyPreprint

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeXRIS

Gregoriou, M.-E., Reczko, M., Tsoumani, K., Mathiopoulos, K.. 2018-11-29. Decoding the reproductive system of the olive fruit fly, Bactrocera oleae. https://doi.org/10.1101/481523

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related preprints

bioRxiv2026

T cell transcriptomes in simulated microgravity in vivo

Spaceflight exposes astronauts to a combination of stressors, among which microgravity remains the least well characterized at the level of human immune cell function. We examined the in vivo effect of long-term simulated microgravity (SMG) on T cell transcriptomes in ten healthy male volunteers who completed a three-week dry immersion protocol without countermeasures. Peripheral blood was collected at five time points covering a pre-immersion baseline (day -7), three intra-exposure time points (days 7, 14 and 21) and a recovery time point one week after the end of exposure (day 28). CD3+ T cells were isolated and analysed by RNA-seq, with differential expression assessed per volunteer and KEGG pathway enrichment used to identify the most affected gene networks. SMG was associated with transcript-level changes in genes mapping to key molecular pathways, including those involved in cell proliferation, cell-cycle regulation, maintenance of genome integrity, and oncogenic and tumour-suppressor networks. Hub genes shared across the most significant pathways were differentially expressed in the majority of volunteers. A notable finding was pronounced inter-individual heterogeneity: samples clustered primarily by volunteer identity, yet a coordinated temporal shift during exposure and a partial return toward baseline by day 28 were detectable across donors, and these changes occurred in the absence of detectable systemic inflammation. These results indicate that SMG is associated with altered T cell transcriptional programs in vivo and that the response is sufficiently variable between individuals to favor personalized rather than uniform countermeasure strategies.

molecular biology↗
bioRxiv2026

Physiological mapping and prediction reveal stress-responsive translation initiation landscapes

Translation initiation defines the protein output of the transcriptome, but its physiological dynamics in cells and tissues remain incompletely characterized. Here we develop TISCA2, an inhibitor-free method that captures eIF5B-associated initiating ribosomes to map translation initiation sites genome-wide. By directly identifying start sites rather than inferring translation from elongating-ribosome periodicity, TISCA2 improves the detection of short and overlapping translons. Translation of a subset of TISCA2-identified translons is supported by N-terminal proteomics and HLA-I immunopeptidomics. The arsenite-induced integrated stress response broadly redistributes start-site usage, reducing upstream initiation in favor of downstream initiation. TISCA2 further reveals tissue-specific initiation landscapes in vivo, with increased detection of downstream candidate start sites in the testis. Finally, we develop IncepTIS, a sequence-based deep learning model that predicts position-resolved and condition-dependent initiation landscapes. IncepTIS-guided optimization generates de novo mRNA 5' leaders with stress-responsive initiation patterns. Together, TISCA2 and IncepTIS provide an experimental and computational framework for mapping, predicting and engineering translation initiation in mammalian cells and tissues.

molecular biology↗
bioRxiv2026

Optimal compositions of potent sliced-siRNA with DNA bases substitution and insights of Ago2 slicing actions

We have previously characterized the nucleotide compositions of single-stranded ago2-sliced small interfering RNAs (sliced-siRNA, sliRNA), a novel type of potent RNAi trigger designed based on the biogenesis mechanism of miRNA-451. sliRNAs have on par antisense mediated silencing activity but about 1000-fold reduced passenger strand activity compared to siRNA. In the current study, to further characterize sliRNAs to facilitate their in vivo application, we have investigated the effects of substituting RNA nucleotides (nts) in sliRNA with DNA nts (sliDRNAs), which will allow us to study the potential effects on their processing, maturation, and silencing activity from individual or multiple nts at different positions. Our results showed sliDRNAs have distinguished composition from siRNA with DNA nts (siDRNA), indicated that, in addition to their different biogenesis mechanisms, these two types of RNAi triggers may also have adopted additional different silencing mechanisms. Our results also revealed some mechanism related to how Ago2 executes its slicer activity and the effects on sliRNA potency by trimming and tailing during sliRNA maturation. These results have paved the way for using other chemically modified nts in sliRNAs that may enhance their in vivo stability and transportability to facilitate their in vivo applications.

molecular biology↗