Abstract: 【Aim】This study aims to preliminarily clarify the molecular mechanism of diapause in Gomphocerus sibiricus eggs through screening diapause genes and metabolic pathways of the eggs.【Methods】 Transcriptome sequencing was performed on G. sibiricus eggs at different developmental stages ［early developmental stage (ES), diapause stage (DS), and post-diapause developmental stage (PS)］, with the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 sequencing platform. The diapause-associated pathways of G. sibiricus eggs were predicted 
by GO and KEGG enrichment analysis, and analyzed by cluster heat map analysis combined with literature reports to screen diapause-associated genes. qRT-PCR was used to verify six important genes of the screened diapause-associated genes. 【Results】 In the DS vs ES and PS vs DS comparative groups, 12 419 and 4 789 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were enriched, respectively, and most of them were up-regulated. A total of 2 206 DEGs of the two comparative groups were mainly related to glucose metabolism, environmental stress and growth and development. The most significant enrichment of GO items in the DS vs ES group was protein binding. The GO items in the PS vs DS group mainly included enzymatic activity, cytoskeleton construction and protein binding. Diapause-associated genes were mainly involved in Wnt signaling pathway, insulin signaling pathway, cell cycle pathway and insect hormone biosynthesis pathway. The expression trends of the six important diapause-associated genes were consistent with the transcriptome data. 【Conclusion】 In this study, important metabolic pathways that regulate diapause of G. sibiricus eggs were preliminarily identified, and a total of 20 diapause-associated genes were screened out, laying a foundation for further study on the adaptation mechanism of this species.

Key words: Gomphocerus sibiricus; eggs, transcriptome, diapause-associated genes, KEGG; qRT-PCR