2. Academic Validation
  3. Multi-site phosphorylation of a transcription factor orchestrates imidacloprid resistance in whitefly

Multi-site phosphorylation of a transcription factor orchestrates imidacloprid resistance in whitefly

  • Cell Rep. 2025 Dec 23;44(12):116638. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.116638.
Shaonan Liu 1,  Buli Fu 2,  Peipan Gong 3,  Qimei Tan 1,  Mingjiao Huang 1,  Chao He 1,  Xuegao Wei 1,  Ralf Nauen 4,  Chris Bass 5,  Xin Yang 6,  Youjun Zhang 7
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
  • 2 State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China; The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management of Tropical Crops, Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571101, China.
  • 3 The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management of Tropical Crops, Environment and Plant Protection Institute, Chinese Academy of Tropical Agricultural Sciences, Haikou 571101, China.
  • 4 Pest Control Biology, Bayer AG, Crop Science Division, 40789 Monheim, Germany.
  • 5 Centre for Ecology and Conservation, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9FE, UK. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 6 State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
  • 7 State Key Laboratory of Vegetable Biobreeding, Department of Plant Protection, Institute of Vegetables and Flowers, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China. Electronic address: [email protected].
PMID: 41335518 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2025.116638
Abstract

Protein phosphorylation plays a key role in regulating cellular function. However, the role of this post-translational modification in the evolution of adaptive traits such as Insecticide resistance remains poorly resolved. Here, we show that two protein kinases, belonging to components of different signaling pathways, act antagonistically via phosphorylation to regulate a single transcription factor, which in turn trans-regulates a resistance gene in the global pest Bemisia tabaci. We reveal that the transcription factor Eagle is constitutively overexpressed and trans-activates the 20E-related gene CYP306A1, enhancing imidacloprid detoxification and metabolic resistance. Eagle activity is antagonistically regulated by the protein kinase mitogen-activated protein kinase p38 and the cyclic adenosine monophosphate-dependent protein kinase A PKA_C1 via phosphorylation at two distinct phosphoacceptor sites, with p38 upregulation and PKA_C1 downregulation sustaining resistance. These findings reveal the role of antagonistic phosphorylation in the evolution of adaptive phenotypes and uncover a complex trans-regulatory network underpinning Insecticide resistance.

Keywords

20E-related gene CYP306A1; CP: Molecular biology; MAPK; PKA; insecticide resistance; phosphorylation; protein kinase; transcription factor.

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