| Summary: | <i>Nilaparvata lugens</i> proclotting enzymes (<i>Nl</i>PCEs) belong to the clip domain serine protease (clip-SP) family, which is a characteristic protease family in arthropods. <i>NlPCE3</i> was previously reported to regulate egg production and development in female <i>N. lugens</i>, but its role in male <i>N. lugens</i> is unclear. In the present study, qPCR analysis showed that <i>NlPCE3</i> was expressed in three different tissues (gut, testis and fat body). RNAi revealed that ds<i>NlPCE3</i> injection made the male vas deferens thinner and reduced the oviposition level of the females that mated with ds<i>NlPCE3</i>-treated males, causing eggs not to hatch. Furthermore, immunofluorescence staining showed that <i>Nl</i>PCE3 was widely expressed in the male internal genitalia. However, after ds<i>NlPCE3</i> injection, expression of <i>Nl</i>PCE3 was diffuse in the male internal genitalia, whose peripheral cells seemed degraded. Overall, these results indicate that <i>NlPCE3</i> is important for reproduction in male <i>N. lugens</i>.
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