Synchronous vitellogenin expression and sexual maturation during migration are negatively correlated with juvenile hormone levels in Mythimna separata

Annual migration of pests between different seasonal habitats can lead to serious crop damage. Reproductive immaturity is generally associated with the migratory process (oogenesis-flight syndrome), but the mechanism of reproductive development during migration varies unpredictably. Here, the vitellogenin gene (MsVg) and three key regulatory enzyme genes (MsJhamt, MsJheh and MsJhe) related to juvenile hormone (JH) synthesis and degradation were identified and characterized in Mythimna separata. The relative expression of MsVg varied significantly in response to seasonal changes and was significantly correlated with stages of ovarian development. The relatively low levels of JH titer did not differ significantly in male moths but slightly increased in female adults during the migratory season, which was consistent with changes in mRNA levels for MsJhamt, MsJheh and MsJhe. JH titer was negatively associated with relative seasonal levels of vitellogenin mRNA transcripts and with ovarian development in migrating M. separata. The synchrony of MsVg expression with sexual maturation highlighted the potential of MsVg transcript levels to serve as an index to monitor the adult reproductive status. In addition, the level of JH and sexual maturity were correlated with the extent of JH in regulating the MsVg expression and reproduction during seasonal northern and southern migration.