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Article

DNA Methylation-Associated Epigenetic Changes in Thermotolerance of Bemisia tabaci During Biological Invasions

1
Key Laboratory of Forest Bio-Resources and Integrated Pest Management for Higher Education in Hunan Province, College of Forestry, Central South University of Forestry and Technology, Changsha 410004, China
2
State Key Laboratory for Biology of Plant Diseases and Insect Pests, Key Laboratory for Prevention and Control of Invasive Alien Species of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100193, China
3
Agricultural Genome Institute at Shenzhen, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shenzhen 518120, China
*
Authors to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(15), 7466; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26157466 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 17 June 2025 / Revised: 25 July 2025 / Accepted: 30 July 2025 / Published: 1 August 2025
(This article belongs to the Section Molecular Biology)

Abstract

Global warming and anthropogenic climate change are projected to expand the geographic distribution and population abundance of ectothermic species and exacerbate the biological invasion of exotic species. DNA methylation, as a reversible epigenetic modification, could provide a putative link between the phenotypic plasticity of invasive species and environmental temperature variations. We assessed and interpreted the epigenetic mechanisms of invasive and indigenous species’ differential tolerance to thermal stress through the invasive species Bemisia tabaci Mediterranean (MED) and the indigenous species Bemisia tabaci AsiaII3. We examine their thermal tolerance following exposure to heat and cold stress. We found that MED exhibits higher thermal resistance than AsiaII3 under heat stress. The fluorescence-labeled methylation-sensitive amplified polymorphism (F-MSAP) results proved that the increased thermal tolerance in MED is closely related to DNA methylation changes, other than genetic variation. Furthermore, the quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting analysis of DNA methyltransferases (Dnmts) suggested that increased expression of Dnmt3 regulates the higher thermal tolerance of female MED adults. A mechanism is revealed whereby DNA methylation enhances thermal tolerance in invasive species. Our results show that the Dnmt-mediated regulation mechanism is particularly significant for understanding invasive species’ successful invasion and rapid adaptation under global warming, providing new potential targets for controlling invasive species worldwide.
Keywords: DNA methylation; thermotolerance; rapid adaptation; DNA methyltransferases; biological invasion; Bemisia tabaci DNA methylation; thermotolerance; rapid adaptation; DNA methyltransferases; biological invasion; Bemisia tabaci

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Dai, T.; Wang, Y.; Shen, X.; Lü, Z.; Wan, F.; Liu, W. DNA Methylation-Associated Epigenetic Changes in Thermotolerance of Bemisia tabaci During Biological Invasions. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26, 7466. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26157466

AMA Style

Dai T, Wang Y, Shen X, Lü Z, Wan F, Liu W. DNA Methylation-Associated Epigenetic Changes in Thermotolerance of Bemisia tabaci During Biological Invasions. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. 2025; 26(15):7466. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26157466

Chicago/Turabian Style

Dai, Tianmei, Yusheng Wang, Xiaona Shen, Zhichuang Lü, Fanghao Wan, and Wanxue Liu. 2025. "DNA Methylation-Associated Epigenetic Changes in Thermotolerance of Bemisia tabaci During Biological Invasions" International Journal of Molecular Sciences 26, no. 15: 7466. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26157466

APA Style

Dai, T., Wang, Y., Shen, X., Lü, Z., Wan, F., & Liu, W. (2025). DNA Methylation-Associated Epigenetic Changes in Thermotolerance of Bemisia tabaci During Biological Invasions. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 26(15), 7466. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26157466

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