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Hafeez M, Mc Donnell R, Colton A, Howe D, Denver D, Martin RC, Choi MY. Immune-Related Gene Profiles and Differential Expression in the Grey Garden Slug Deroceras reticulatum Infected with the Parasitic Nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita. INSECTS 2024; 15:311. [PMID: 38786867 PMCID: PMC11122010 DOI: 10.3390/insects15050311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2024] [Revised: 04/17/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
The grey garden slug (Deroceras reticulatum), a common terrestrial slug native to Europe with a global distribution including North America, is commonly considered the most severe slug pest in agriculture. The nematode Phasmarhabditis hermaphrodita, which has been used in the U.K. and Europe as a commercial biocontrol agent since 1994, has also recently been collected in Oregon and California and has long been considered a candidate biocontrol agent for slug management in the U.S. In this study, we report differential gene expressions in nematode-infected slugs using RNA-seq to identify slug immune-related genes against nematodes. Comparison of gene expression levels between the whole bodies of a nematode-infected slug (N-S) and an uninfected control slug (C-S) revealed that there were a total of 39,380 regulated unigenes, of which 3084 (3%) were upregulated and 6761 (6%) were downregulated at greater than 2-fold change (FC > 2) in the nematode-infected slug. To further investigate the biological functions of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), gene ontology (GO) and functional enrichment analysis were performed to map the DEGs to terms in the GO, eukaryotic ortholog groups of proteins (KOG) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genome Pathway (KEGG) databases. Among these DEGs, approximately 228 genes associated with immunity or immune-related pathways were upregulated 2-fold or more in the N-S compared to C-S. These genes include toll, Imd, JNK, scavenger receptors (SCRs), C-type lectins (CTLs), immunoglobulin-like domains, and JAK/STAT63 signaling pathways. From the RNA-seq results, we selected 18 genes and confirmed their expression levels by qRT-PCR. Our findings provide insights into the immune response of slugs during nematode infection. These studies provide fundamental information that will be valuable for the development of new methods of pest slug control using pathogenic nematodes in the field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Muhammad Hafeez
- USDA-ARS, Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA;
- Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA;
| | - Rory Mc Donnell
- Department of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA; (R.M.D.); (A.C.)
| | - Andrew Colton
- Department of Crop and Soil Science, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA; (R.M.D.); (A.C.)
| | - Dana Howe
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA; (D.H.); (D.D.)
| | - Dee Denver
- Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA; (D.H.); (D.D.)
| | - Ruth C. Martin
- Department of Horticulture, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA;
| | - Man-Yeon Choi
- USDA-ARS, Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit, Corvallis, OR 97330, USA;
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Wang W, Ma Y, Yang RR, Cheng X, Huang HJ, Zhang CX, Bao YY. An MD-2-related lipid-recognition protein is required for insect reproduction and integument development. Open Biol 2021; 11:210170. [PMID: 34905699 PMCID: PMC8670961 DOI: 10.1098/rsob.210170] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The myeloid differentiation factor 2 (MD-2)-related lipid-recognition protein is involved in immune responses through recognizing bacteria lipopolysaccharide in mammals, arthropods and plants. However, the physiological roles of MD-2 in other biological processes are largely unknown. Here, we identified three homologue MD-2 genes (NlML1, NlML2 and NlML3) by searching the genome and transcriptome databases of the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens, a hemipteran insect species. Temporospatial analysis showed that the NlML1 gene was highly expressed in the fat body but much less so in the other tissues, while the NlML2 and NlML3 genes were highly expressed in the testis or digestive tract. RNA interference-mediated depletion of the NlML1 gene significantly downregulated the transcription of numerous integument protein genes. The NlML1 knockdown led to moulting failure and mortality at the nymph-adult transition phase, impaired egg laying and hatching, and reduced 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) production in the nymphs. 20E could rescue the deficient moulting phenotypes derived from dsNlML1 RNAi. These novel findings indicate that NlML1 is required for nymphal moulting and female reproductive success as it plays an important role in regulating 20E synthesis, lipid and chitin metabolisms in N. lugens, thus contributing to our understanding of developmental and reproductive mechanisms in insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wei Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Ya Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Rui-Rui Yang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Xu Cheng
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Hai-Jian Huang
- State Key Laboratory for Managing Biotic and Chemical Threats to the Quality and Safety of Agro-products, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of Ministry of Agriculture and Zhejiang Province, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, People's Republic of China
| | - Chuan-Xi Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, People's Republic of China
| | - Yan-Yuan Bao
- State Key Laboratory of Rice Biology and Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, People's Republic of China
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Etebari K, Gharuka M, Asgari S, Furlong MJ. Diverse Host Immune Responses of Different Geographical Populations of the Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle to Oryctes Rhinoceros Nudivirus (OrNV) Infection. Microbiol Spectr 2021; 9:e0068621. [PMID: 34523987 PMCID: PMC8557903 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00686-21] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Incursions of the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB), Oryctes rhinoceros, into different islands in the South Pacific have been detected in recent years. It has been suggested that this range expansion is related to an O. rhinoceros haplotype reported to show reduced susceptibility to the well-established classical biocontrol agent, Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV). Our understanding of the genetic characteristics which distinguish the population of O. rhinoceros that has recently established in Solomon Islands from other well-established populations across the region is very limited. Here, we hypothesized that the recently established O. rhinoceros population should have greater innate immune responses when challenged by OrNV than those of well-established and native O. rhinoceros populations. We used the RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq) approach to generate gene expression profiles of midgut tissue from OrNV-infected and noninfected individuals collected in the Solomon Islands (recent incursion), Papua New Guinea and Fiji (previously established), and the Philippines (within the native range). The collections included individuals from each of the three major mitochondrial lineages (CRB-G, CRB-PNG, and CRB-S) known to the region, allowing us to explore the specific responses of each haplotype to infection. Although insects from the Philippines and Solomon Islands that were tested belong to the same mitochondrial lineage (CRB-G), their overall responses to infection were different. The number of differentially expressed genes between OrNV-infected and noninfected wild-caught individuals from the four different locations varied from 148 to 252. Persistent OrNV infection caused a high level of induced antimicrobial activity and immune responses in O. rhinoceros, but the direction and magnitude of the responses were population specific. The insects tested from the Solomon Islands displayed extremely high expression of genes which are known to be involved in immune responses (e.g. coleoptericin, cecropin, and serpin). These variations in the host immune system among insects from different geographical regions might be driven by variations in the virulence of OrNV isolates, and this requires further investigation. Overall, our current findings support the importance of immunity in insect pest incursion and an expansion of the pest's geographic range. IMPORTANCE Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV) is a double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) virus which has been used as a biocontrol agent to suppress coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) in the Pacific Islands. Recently a new wave of CRB incursions in Oceania is thought to be related to the presence of low-virulence isolates of OrNV or virus-tolerant haplotypes of beetles (CRB-G). Our comparative analysis of OrNV-infected and noninfected CRBs revealed that specific sets of genes were induced by viral infection in the beetles. This induction was much stronger in beetles collected from the Solomon Islands, a newly invaded country, than in individuals collected from within the beetle's native range (the Philippines) or from longer-established populations in its exotic range (Fiji and Papua New Guinea [PNG]). Beetles from the Philippines and the Solomon Islands that were tested in this study all belonged to the CRB-G haplotype, but the country-specific responses of the beetles to OrNV infection were different.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kayvan Etebari
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Maria Gharuka
- Research Division, Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, Honiara, Solomon Islands
| | - Sassan Asgari
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Michael J. Furlong
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
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Darboux I, Cusson M, Volkoff AN. The dual life of ichnoviruses. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 32:47-53. [PMID: 31113631 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.10.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2018] [Revised: 10/15/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Ichnoviruses (IVs) are mutualistic, double-stranded DNA viruses playing a key role in the successful parasitism of thousands of endoparasitoid wasp species. IV particles are produced exclusively in the female wasp reproductive tract. They are co-injected along with the parasitoid egg into caterpillar hosts upon parasitization. The expression of viral genes by infected host cells leads to an immunosuppressive state and delayed development of the host, two pathologies that are critical to the successful development of the wasp egg and larva. Ichnovirus is one of the two recognized genera within the family Polydnaviridae (polydnaviruses or PDVs), the other genus being Bracovirus (BV), associated with braconid wasps. IVs are associated with ichneumonid wasps belonging to the subfamilies Campopleginae and Banchinae; attempts to identify IV particles in other ichneumonid subfamilies have so far been unsuccessful. Functional studies targeting IV genes expressed in parasitized hosts, along with investigations of the molecular mechanisms responsible for viral morphogenesis in the female wasp, have resulted in a better understanding of the biology of these atypical viruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabelle Darboux
- UMR DGIMI 1333 INRA Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France.
| | - Michel Cusson
- Centre de foresterie des Laurentides, Ressources naturelles Canada, Québec, Canada
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Gene expression profiling provides insights into the immune mechanism of Plutella xylostella midgut to microbial infection. Gene 2018; 647:21-30. [DOI: 10.1016/j.gene.2018.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2017] [Revised: 12/29/2017] [Accepted: 01/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
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Tang B, Chen J, Hou Y, Meng E. Transcriptome immune analysis of the invasive beetle Octodonta nipae (Maulik) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) parasitized by Tetrastichus brontispae Ferrière (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae). PLoS One 2014; 9:e91482. [PMID: 24614330 PMCID: PMC3948882 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0091482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2013] [Accepted: 02/10/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The beetle Octodonta nipae (Maulik) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a serious invasive insect pest of palm plants in southern China, and the endoparasitoid Tetrastichus brontispae Ferrière (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is a natural enemy of this pest that exhibits great ability in the biocontrol of O. nipae. For successful parasitism, endoparasitoids often introduce or secrete various virulence factors to suppress host immunity. To investigate the effects of parasitization by T. brontispae on the O. nipae immune system, the transcriptome of O. nipae pupae was analyzed with a focus on immune-related genes through Illumina sequencing. De novo assembly generated 49,919 unigenes with a mean length of 598 bp. Of these genes, 27,490 unigenes (55.1% of all unigenes) exhibited clear homology to known genes in the NCBI nr database. Parasitization had significant effects on the transcriptome profile of O. nipae pupae, and most of these differentially expressed genes were down-regulated. Importantly, the expression profiles of immune-related genes were significantly regulated after parasitization. Taken together, these transcriptome sequencing efforts shed valuable light on the host (O. nipae) manipulation mechanisms induced by T. brontispae, which will pave the way for the development of novel immune defense-based management strategies of O. nipae, and provide a springboard for further molecular analyses, particularly of O. nipae invasion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Baozhen Tang
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Department of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Fujian-Taiwan, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, Fujian, P. R. China
| | - Jun Chen
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Department of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Fujian-Taiwan, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, Fujian, P. R. China
| | - Youming Hou
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Department of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Fujian-Taiwan, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, Fujian, P. R. China
- * E-mail:
| | - E. Meng
- Fujian Provincial Key Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Department of Plant Protection, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou, Fujian, P. R. China
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Pest Management on Crops in Fujian-Taiwan, Ministry of Agriculture, Fuzhou, Fujian, P. R. China
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