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The brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens is a typical monophagous insect herbivore that feeds exclusively on rice sap. This insect pest causes serious damage to rice crops throughout East Asian countries. Chemical control remains the first choice for managing N. lugens populations; however, the use of insecticides has given rise to planthopper resurgence and additional environmental risks. Nilaparvata lugens is a model insect of Hemiptera because its whole genome sequence has been elucidated and is susceptible to RNA interference. In this study, our findings revealed that a superoxide-generating gene, NADPH oxidase 5 (Nox5), is essential for molting and oviposition in a Hemipteran insect Nilaparvata lugens. Knockdown of Nox5 transcript levels by RNA interference in 2nd–5th-instar nymphs results in significantly lethal deficits in the molting transitions from nymph–nymph and nymph–adult. Nox5 knockdown leads to a reduction of hydrogen peroxide in female ovaries and failure of oviposition from the insect ovipositor into the rice leaf sheath. Here, we provide in vivo evidence demonstrating that Nox5 is a key enzyme for regulating molting and oviposition in this insect species.

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