Silencing of two alternative splicing-derived mRNA variants of chitin synthase 1 gene by RNAi is lethal to the oriental migratory locust, Locusta migratoria manilensis (Meyen)

Chitin synthases are crucial enzymes responsible for chitin biosynthesis in fungi, nematodes and arthropods. We characterized two alternative splicing-derived variants of chitin synthase 1 gene (LmCHS1) from the oriental migratory locust, Locusta migratoria manilensis (Meyen). Each cDNA of the two variants (LmCHS1A and LmCHS1B) consists of 5116 nucleotides that include a 4728-nucleotide open reading frame (ORF) encoding 1576 amino acid residues,...