TRANSIENT EXPRESSION OF A DROSOPHILA-MELANOGASTER HSP70 PROMOTER LACZCONSTRUCT INJECTED INTO LARVAE OF 2 SPECIES OF PREDATORY MITES (ACARI, PHYTOSEIIDAE)

The Drosophila melanogaster heat shock 70 promoter (hsp70) was used to regulate expression of the Escherichia coli beta-galactosidase gene ( lacZ) in transiently-transformed predatory mite larvae. A construct co ntaining the hsp70 promoter upstream of the D. melanogaster alcohol de hydrogenase (adh) translational start site and Escherichia coli lacZ g ene fusion (adh/lacZ) was injected into larvae of Metaseiulus occident alis and Amblyseius finlandicus. LacZ expression was compared to expre ssion of a similar construct lacking any upstream regulatory sequence. Expression from the hsp70 promoter was strong and heat shock-dependen t in both species. The Drosophila hsp70 promoter therefore appears use ful for regulating expression of exogenous DNA in both phytoseiid spec ies and may be broadly applicable in the Phytoseiidae. Furthermore, th e lacZ gene is a useful gene for analysis of expression in both specie s. Larval microinjection provides a method of assessing transient expr ession and of examining native regulatory sequences in these two phyto seiids and will likely be useful in other phytoseiid mites with only m inor modifications.