Induction of diapause by clock proteins period and timeless via changes in PTTH and ecdysteroid titer in the sugar beet moth, Scrobipalpa ocellatella (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae)

Abstract The sugar beet moth, Scrobipalpa ocellatella (Boyd), one of the most severe sugar beet pests, causes quantitative and qualitative yield losses late in the autumn. Previously, it was shown that low temperature and short‐day photoperiod together cause diapause induction in pupae. Here, the interaction of the critical elements of the diapause induction, including the period (PER), timeless (TIM), prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH), and ecdysteroid titer, were investigated. Immunohistochemistry results showed that the number of period immunoreactivity (PER‐ir) and TIM‐ir cells in nondiapause pupae (NDP) was lower than in the brain of the diapause pupae (DP). Moreover, the number of PER‐ir and TIM‐ir cells in the protocerebrum and optic lobe (OL) of NDP was lower than DP. Moreover, lower PTTH content in the brain and hemolymph of DP was confirmed by competitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Enzyme immunoassay showed a lower 20‐hydroxyecdysone (20E) titer in the hemolymph of the DP compared with the NDP. Within a short‐day condition, PER and TIM titers increased in the brain leading to decreasing PTTH titers in the brain and hemolymph that caused decreasing 20E titer in the hemolymph, leading to the induction of diapause. This study suggests that PER and TIM could be one of the brain factors that play an essential role in regulating diapause in S. ocellatella .