Abstract:  During insect cuticle occurrence and differentiation, and in the process of construction of external important parts and organs of insect body, cuticular proteins are essential constituent elements. In this article, we briefly summarized the identification and classification, the spatiotemporal expression patterns, the regulation of expression by hormones and transcription factors, and functional research of insect cuticular protein genes over the past ten years. We also discussed their possible application prospects in pest control in order to provide references for further study of insect cuticular proteins and their potential utilization. More than 1 400 sequences of insect cuticular proteins have been reported, and they are divided into twelve families such as CPR, CPF, CPFL, Tweedle, etc. Related transcription factors such as βFTZ-F1 and BR-C, which are activated by ecdysteroid, act on the cis acting elements upstream cuticular protein genes and turn on or off these genes in order to regulate the expression of cuticular protein genes. Cuticular protein genes play an indispensable role in the insect cuticle integration, body shaping, activity, resistance, innate immunity and other physiological phenomena and physiological process. Therefore, if we can inhibit the expression of key cuticular protein gene or remove it from the genome to prevent the insect development or disrupt the reproductive ability of insects, this may provide reference for pest control strategies.

Key words: Insect, cuticular protein, identification and classification, gene expression and regulation, gene function, pest control