{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T09:24:45Z","timestamp":1788341085511,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1788307200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Sanya Yazhou Bay Science and Technology City Administration","award":["SKJC-GJHZ-2025-03"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["SKJC-GJHZ-2025-03"]}]},{"name":"Hainan Provincial Science and Technology Correspondent Program","award":["KJTP202530"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["KJTP202530"]}]},{"name":"Hainan Institute of National Park","award":["RH2300006341"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["RH2300006341"]}]},{"name":"Innovative Research Projects for Postgraduates","award":["Hys2025-268"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Hys2025-268"]}]},{"name":"Innovative Research Projects for Postgraduates","award":["Hys2025-02"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["Hys2025-02"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Insects"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Short-term high temperature is a critical environmental factor affecting the population dynamics of invasive insect pests. Kr\u00fcppel-homolog 1 (Kr-h1) is a key transcription factor involved in insect reproduction. In this study, we investigated the role of ZcKr-h1 in female reproduction and lifespan under normal and short-term high-temperature conditions in the melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett). RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of ZcKr-h1 markedly reduced female fecundity, shortened the oviposition period, delayed ovarian development, and decreased adult lifespan. Moreover, ZcVgR (vitellogenin receptor) expression was consistently suppressed following ZcKr-h1 knockdown at both 25 \u00b0C and 45 \u00b0C, while ZcVg3 expression was upregulated at 25 \u00b0C but showed no significant change at 45 \u00b0C. These findings demonstrate that ZcKr-h1 is essential for female reproduction and survival under both normal and short-term high-temperature conditions, and that VgR is the primary downstream effector mediating its reproductive functions. This study provides a potential molecular target for environmentally friendly pest management during hot seasons.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/insects17090920","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]],"date-time":"2026-09-02T08:56:01Z","timestamp":1788339361000},"page":"920","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["ZcKr-h1 Knockdown Impairs Female Reproduction and Lifespan in Zeugodacus cucurbitae Under Normal and Short-Term High Temperature"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Zhenyao","family":"Qin","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry (School of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, School of Rural Revitalization), Hainan University, Danzhou 571737, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"data-curation","vocabulary":"credit"},{"role":"writing-original-draft","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Shuyan","family":"Yang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry (School of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, School of Rural Revitalization), Hainan University, Danzhou 571737, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"writing-review-editing","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Wenhong","family":"Xie","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry (School of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, School of Rural Revitalization), Hainan University, Danzhou 571737, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"visualization","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Ji","family":"Zhang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Sanya Nanfan Research Institute, Hainan University, Sanya 572022, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"supervision","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Yidan","family":"Lu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry (School of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, School of Rural Revitalization), Hainan University, Danzhou 571737, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Longwei","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry (School of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, School of Rural Revitalization), Hainan University, Danzhou 571737, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"formal-analysis","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"given":"Wenjing","family":"Zhu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Wenchang Environment Monitoring Station, Wenchang 571300, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"project-administration","vocabulary":"credit"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-5644-6998","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Shihao","family":"Zhou","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Tropical Agriculture and Forestry (School of Agricultural and Rural Affairs, School of Rural Revitalization), Hainan University, Danzhou 571737, China"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"},{"role":"funding-acquisition","vocabulary":"credit"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,2]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Mohamed, S.A., Azrag, A.G.A., Obala, F., and Ndlela, S. 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