Distinct microRNA and mRNA responses elicited by ecdysone, diapause hormone and a diapause hormone analog at diapause termination in pupae of the corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea

[Display omitted] •Terminating diapause with 20E, DH, or ‘1963’ induces changes in miRNA and mRNAs.•Post-diapause in miRNA and mRNA depend on the agent used to terminate diapause.•MiR-277 is downregulated when diapause is terminated with ecdysone, DH, or ‘1963’.•Ecdysone signaling genes, spook and isiw, are upregulated post-diapause termination. Ecdysone, diapause hormone and a diapause hormone analog are all capable of breaking pupal diapause and prompting initiation of adult development in the cotton earworm, Helicoverpa zea. In this study we asked whether these three chemically-distinct diapause terminators elicit the same effect on expression of a collection of microRNAs and transcripts encoding components of the ecdysone signaling pathway. Injection of all three endocrine agents resulted in downregulation of one miRNA, miR-277-3p, a miRNA previously linked to the insulin/FOXO signaling pathway, and all three agents promoted upregulation of spook, a member of the ecdysone biosynthesis pathway, and iswi, an ecdysone-responsive transcript. Other miRNA and mRNA responses varied depending on the agent used to terminate diapause, thus suggesting that different endocrine pathways and mechanisms can lead to the same final developmental response.