Selection of Reference Genes for Gene Expression Analysis in Nilaparvata lugens with Different Levels of Virulence on Rice by Quantitative Real-Time PCR

摘要

The brown planthopperNilaparvata lugens Stål (Homoptera: Delphacidae) can cause hopperburn by feeding on rice and also can transmit the grassy stunt disease. Resistant rice varieties have been developed, but severalN. lugens strains can recover their virulence to these resistant rice varieties. In the present study, reference genes with stable expression levels inN. lugens populations showed different levels of virulence to susceptible and resistant rice varieties. The expression of six candidate reference genes inN. lugens feeding on susceptible and resistant rice varieties was analyzed. These genes were evaluated for their potential use in the analysis of differential gene expression. Polymerase chain reaction data was generated fromN. lugens, including two different treatments (resistant or susceptible rice) and three virulentN. lugens populations. Three software programs (BestKeeper, Normfinder and geNorm) were used to assess the candidate reference genes. Both geNorm and Normfinder identified the genes18S,β-ACT,β-TUB andα-TUB as the most stable reference genes. BestKeeper identifiedETIF1 as the optimal reference gene with the least overall variation, whereas18S andα-TUB were the second and third most stably expressed genes, respectively. Therefore, we concluded that the genes18S andα-TUB were the most suitable reference genes inN. lugens. These results will facilitate future transcript profiling studies onN. lugens populations that show variation in virulence levels on different rice varieties.