Characterization of hypoxia-inducible factor α and its response to hypoxia in Callosobruchus chinensis (Coleoptera, Bruchidae)

Hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) plays an essential role in hypoxic adaptation in various organisms. Callosobruchus chinensis, a common food storage pest, is highly adapted to hypoxic conditions, while the underlying mechanism of which is currently unclear. Here, we isolated, sequenced, and bioinformatically analyzed HIF1α from C. chinensis, then examined its mRNA and protein expression profiles under hypoxic conditions for various developmental stages and tissue types. The effects of environmental hypoxia on other genes in the HIF pathway response, aspartyl-hydroxylase (FIH) and prolyl hydroxylase (PHD), were also examined. We found that FIH and PHD were also highly conserved and that their expression varied with developmental stage, tissue type, and environmental hypoxia. Overall, hypoxia caused an increase in HIF1α and FIH mRNA expression, and a decrease in PHD mRNA expression, while expression of their proteins showed different in response to hypoxia. HIF1α protein levels increased, P...