Genome-Wide Identification and Analysis of Chitinase-Like Gene Family in Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)

SIMPLE SUMMARY: For the sake of growth and development, old exuviums of Bemisia tabaci nymphs should be periodically substituted by new ones until a final emergence turns them into adults. During ecdysis, chitinases are of great importance in chitin degradation and turnover of cuticles, which provides us potential targets for RNA interference-based B. tabaci management. Therefore, we annotated 14 chitinase and chitinase-like genes in B. tabaci based on data of genome and transcriptomes. With the help of a nanomaterial-promoted RNAi method, we found that silencing of BtCht10, BtCht5, and BtCht7 resulted in significant increase of death rate on B. tabaci nymphs and the developmental duration was noticeably postponed for BtCht2-silenced nymphs. ABSTRACT: Chitinases are of great importance in chitin degradation and remodeling in insects. However, the genome-wide distribution of chitinase-like gene family in Bemsia tabaci, a destructive pest worldwide, is still elusive. With the help of bioinformatics, we annotated 14 genes that encode putative chitinase-like proteins, including ten chitinases (Cht), three imaginal disk growth factors (IDGF), and one endo-β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (ENGase) in the genome of the whitefly, B. tabaci. These genes were phylogenetically grouped into eight clades, among which 13 genes were classified in the glycoside hydrolase family 18 groups and one in the ENGase group. Afterwards, developmental expression analysis suggested that BtCht10, BtCht5, and BtCht7 were highly expressed in nymphal stages and exhibit similar expression patterns, implying their underlying role in nymph ecdysis. Notably, nymphs exhibited a lower rate of survival when challenged by dsRNA targeting these three genes via a nanomaterial-promoted RNAi method. In addition, silencing of BtCht10 significantly resulted in a longer duration of development compared to control nymphs. These results indicate a key role of BtCht10, BtCht5, and BtCht7 in B. tabaci nymph molting. Our research depicts the differences of chitinase-like family genes in structure and function and identified potential targets for RNAi-based whitefly management.