Professor Wang Xiaoping's research group at Huazhong Agricultural University recently published a research paper titled "The PBAP chromatin remodeling complex mediates summer diapause via H3K4me3-driven juvenile hormone regulation in Colaphellus bowringi" in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study established a signaling axis of "photoperiod, chromatin remodeling, calcium signal, juvenile hormone, reproductive diapause" and revealed the Polybromo-associated BAF (PBAP) chromatin remodeling complex as a "decoder" of photoperiod signals. By regulating the synthesis of juvenile hormone, it determines the molecular mechanism of insect reproductive diapause.

Researchers find that bap170 is a crucial transcriptional regulatory factor for the induction of reproductive diapause in the Colaphellus bowringi through RNAi screening and diapause phenotype analysis. [Photo/news.hzau.edu.cn]
The vegetable pest Colaphellus bowringi exhibits typical characteristics of summer diapause, entering reproductive diapause under long light conditions where ovarian development stagnates and fat accumulates heavily. Using Colaphellus bowringi as the research subject, the study identified a reproductive diapause regulatory gene responsive to photoperiod changes – bap170 – and revealed its molecular mechanism of controlling diapause occurrence through chromatin remodeling to regulate juvenile hormone synthesis.
This research not only deepens the understanding of the epigenetic regulatory mechanisms of insect diapause but also provides important theoretical support for ecological pest control and the development of technologies for insect resource utilization based on diapause regulation.