Candidatus Liberibacter Asiaticus-Mediated Manipulation of the Host Long Noncoding RNA Dclnc5 Enhances Fecundity in Diaphorina citri

Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas) enhances the fecundity of Diaphorina citri by manipulating D. citri long noncoding RNA 5 (Dclnc5), revealing an lncRNA-mediated regulatory role in pathogen-vector interactions. We found that CLas infection significantly increased D. citri fecundity and markedly upregulated vitellogenin (Vg) at both the transcript and protein levels. Ovary lncRNA-seq comparing CLas-positive (CLas+) and CLas-negative (CLas-) identified differentially expressed lncRNAs whose predicted targets were enriched in cellular signaling, lipid metabolism, and fat digestion and absorption pathways. Integrated network analysis highlighted Dclnc5, which was highly expressed during the oviposition period and enriched in midgut and ovary of D. citri. Nuclear-cytoplasmic fractionation coupled with qRT-PCR showed predominant cytoplasmic localization of Dclnc5. RNAi-mediated silencing of Dclnc5 markedly delayed ovarian development, significantly reduced egg production, and significantly decreased DcVg expression. These results indicate that CLas may influence ovarian development and fecundity in D. citri by modulating the expression of Dclnc5. These findings provide a new perspective for exploring pathogen-vector interactions.