Probing Transcriptional Crosstalk between Cryptochromes and Iron-sulfur Cluster Assembly 1 ( MagR ) in the Magnetoresponse of a Migratory Insect

Many organisms can sense and respond to magnetic fields (MFs), with migratory species in particular utilizing geomagnetic field information for long-distance migration. Cryptochrome proteins (Crys) along with a highly conserved Iron-sulfur cluster assembly protein (i.e., MagR) have garnered significant attention for their involvement in magnetoresponse (including magnetoreception). However, in vivo investigations of potential transcriptional crosstalk between and genes have been limited. The brown planthopper, , is a major migratory pest insect and an emerging model for studying MF intensity-related magnetoresponse. Here, we explored in vivo transcriptional crosstalk between ( and ) and in . The expression of and were found to be sensitive to MF intensity changes as small as several micro-teslas. Knocking down expression led to a significant downregulation of but not . The knockdown of either or individually did not significantly affect expression. However, their double knockdown resulted in significant upregulation of . Our findings clearly indicate transcriptional crosstalk between and known to be involved in magnetoresponse. This work advances the understanding of magnetoresponse signaling and represents a key initial step towards elucidating the functional consequences of these novel in vivo interactions.