The insect cuticle plays a key role in maintaining the insect's physiological function and behavior. Herein, the yellow‐y protein is required to produce black melanin, and is expressed in a pattern that correlates with the distribution of this pigment. However, yellow‐y can also have other functions, for instance, in insect behavior, but not much is known. In this study, we have studied the yellow‐y gene in one important model and pest species, namely the German cockroach (Blattella germanica), which is to our knowledge the first time reported. In essence, we identified the yellow‐y gene (BgY‐y) and characterized its function by using RNA interference (RNAi). Silencing of BgY‐y gene led to different developmental abnormalities (body weight and wings) in both genders. Specifically, there was an abundant decrease in melanin, turning the body color in pale yellow and the cuticle softer and more transparent. Interestingly, we also observed that the knockdown of BgY‐y impaired the male cockroaches to display a weaker response to female‐emitted contact sex pheromones, and also that the oviposition ability was weakened in the RNAi females. This study comprehensively analyzed the biological functions of the yellow‐y gene in German cockroaches from the perspectives of development, body color, courtship behavior and oviposition, and as a consequence, this may opens new avenues to explore it as a novel pest control gene.

中文翻译：

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正常角质层色素沉着所需的 Yellow-y RNAi 会损害德国小蠊 (Blattella germanica) 的求偶行为和产卵

昆虫角质层对于维持昆虫的生理功能和行为起着关键作用。在此，yellow-y 蛋白是产生黑色素所必需的，并且以与该色素的分布相关的模式表达。然而，yellow-y 还具有其他功能，例如昆虫行为，但目前所知甚少。在这项研究中，我们研究了黄色-y一种重要模型和害虫物种，即德国小蠊的基因（德国小蠊），据我们所知，这是首次报道。本质上，我们确定了黄色-y基因（BgY-y）并通过 RNA 干扰 (RNAi) 表征其功能。沉默BgY-y基因导致两性不同的发育异常（体重和翅膀）。具体来说，黑色素大量减少，体色变成浅黄色，角质层变得更柔软、更透明。有趣的是，我们还观察到BgY-y损害雄性蟑螂对雌性发射的接触性信息素的反应较弱，并且 RNAi 雌性蟑螂的产卵能力也减弱。本研究全面分析了其生物学功能黄色-y从发育、体色、求偶行为和产卵的角度对德国小蠊基因进行了研究，这可能为探索其作为新型害虫防治基因开辟新途径。