Cloning and characterization of ubiquitin ribosome fusion gene RpS27a, a deltamethrin-resistance–associated gene from diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella L.)

The ubiquitin ribosome fusion gene RpS27a’s coding sequence was cloned from diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.). An open reading frame of 468 bp was found to encode a putative 155 amino acid precursor protein, which shares over 90% similarity with other insects’ RpS27a protein. Real-time quantitative PCR was carried out to determine the relative expression level in the fourth instar larvae of deltamethrin-resistant and deltamethrin-susceptible strains. The results showed that the expression of RpS27a was significantly higher in the deltamethrin-resistant strain than in the deltamethrin-susceptible strain. There are reports indicating that upregulation expression of some ribosomal proteins confers some insecticide resistance. For the first time, we have predicted that the increased expression of the RpS27a gene may have some association with pesticide resistance in Plutella xylostella.