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Picciotti U, Valverde-Urrea M, Sefa V, Ragni M, Garganese F, Porcelli F. Performance of Artificial Diets for Zelus renardii (Hemiptera: Reduviidae) Rearing. INSECTS 2024; 15:607. [PMID: 39194812 DOI: 10.3390/insects15080607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2024] [Revised: 08/01/2024] [Accepted: 08/09/2024] [Indexed: 08/29/2024]
Abstract
Mass production is a prerequisite for using natural enemies in integrated pest management and organic farming. Natural enemies in agroecosystems include predators that prey on insects, which they can subdue while maintaining adequate pest population densities. The Leafhopper Assassin Bug (LAB), Zelus renardii, can be a natural enemy in agroecosystems, selecting its prey for size and mobility. Some of LAB's prey include Philaenus spumarius (L.), Bactrocera oleae (Rossi), Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura), and Macrohomotoma gladiata Kuwayama, suggesting this reduviid for biocontrol agent in various contexts. We reared LABs for two subsequent broods offering living prey and artificial diets. Our data show that the rearing of Z. renardii is feasible with oligidic, meridic, and holidic artificial formulations. Four artificial diets allowed the complete post-embryonic development of LABs in captivity for two successive generations. The accumulated degree-days (ADDs) accurately predict the growth of LABs based on heat accumulation, estimating that up to three generations could grow per year in captivity at the experimented T°C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ugo Picciotti
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Miguel Valverde-Urrea
- Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Department of Marine Sciences and Applied Biology, University of Alicante, 03080 Alicante, Spain
| | - Valdete Sefa
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Marco Ragni
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Francesca Garganese
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70126 Bari, Italy
| | - Francesco Porcelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze del Suolo, della Pianta e degli Alimenti, University of Bari Aldo Moro, 70126 Bari, Italy
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2
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Ramírez-Ordorica A, Adame-Garnica SG, Ramos-Aboites HE, Winkler R, Macías-Rodríguez L. Volatile Semiochemicals Emitted by Beauveria bassiana Modulate Larval Feeding Behavior and Food Choice Preference in Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). J Fungi (Basel) 2024; 10:438. [PMID: 38921424 PMCID: PMC11204931 DOI: 10.3390/jof10060438] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2024] [Revised: 06/18/2024] [Accepted: 06/18/2024] [Indexed: 06/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Beauveria bassiana is an entomopathogenic fungus that parasitizes and kills insects. The role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by B. bassiana acting as semiochemicals during its interaction with lepidopterans is poorly explored. Here, we studied the effect of VOCs from B. bassiana and 3-methylbutanol (as a single compound) on the feeding behavior of L2 larvae of Spodoptera frugiperda in sorghum plants. Additionally, we assessed whether fungal VOCs induce chemical modifications in the plants that affect larval food preferences. Metabolomic profiling of plant tissues was performed by mass spectrometry and bioassays in a dual-choice olfactometer. The results showed that the larval feeding behavior was affected by the B. bassiana strain AI2, showing that the insect response is strain-specific. Furthermore, 80 µg of 3-methylbutanol affected the number of bites. The larval feeding choice was dependent on the background context. Fragment spectra and a matching precursor ion mass of 165.882 m/z enabled the putative identification of 4-coumaric acid in sorghum leaves exposed to fungal VOCs, which may be associated with larval deterrent responses. These results provide valuable insights into the bipartite interaction of B. bassiana with lepidopterans through VOC emission, with the plant as a mediator of the interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arturo Ramírez-Ordorica
- Instituto de Investigaciones Químico Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Edificio B3, Ciudad Universitaria, Morelia C.P. 58030, Mexico;
| | - Sandra Goretti Adame-Garnica
- Instituto de Investigaciones Químico Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Edificio B3, Ciudad Universitaria, Morelia C.P. 58030, Mexico;
| | - Hilda Eréndira Ramos-Aboites
- Laboratorio de Análisis Bioquímico e Instrumental, Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Cinvestav, Km 9.6, Libramiento Norte, Carretera Irapuato-León, Irapuato C.P. 36824, Mexico; (H.E.R.-A.); (R.W.)
| | - Robert Winkler
- Laboratorio de Análisis Bioquímico e Instrumental, Unidad de Genómica Avanzada, Cinvestav, Km 9.6, Libramiento Norte, Carretera Irapuato-León, Irapuato C.P. 36824, Mexico; (H.E.R.-A.); (R.W.)
| | - Lourdes Macías-Rodríguez
- Instituto de Investigaciones Químico Biológicas, Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, Edificio B3, Ciudad Universitaria, Morelia C.P. 58030, Mexico;
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Erler S, Cotter SC, Freitak D, Koch H, Palmer-Young EC, de Roode JC, Smilanich AM, Lattorff HMG. Insects' essential role in understanding and broadening animal medication. Trends Parasitol 2024; 40:338-349. [PMID: 38443305 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2024.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/06/2024] [Indexed: 03/07/2024]
Abstract
Like humans, animals use plants and other materials as medication against parasites. Recent decades have shown that the study of insects can greatly advance our understanding of medication behaviors. The ease of rearing insects under laboratory conditions has enabled controlled experiments to test critical hypotheses, while their spectrum of reproductive strategies and living arrangements - ranging from solitary to eusocial communities - has revealed that medication behaviors can evolve to maximize inclusive fitness through both direct and indirect fitness benefits. Studying insects has also demonstrated in some cases that medication can act through modulation of the host's innate immune system and microbiome. We highlight outstanding questions, focusing on costs and benefits in the context of inclusive host fitness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvio Erler
- Institute for Bee Protection, Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) - Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants, Braunschweig, Germany; Zoological Institute, Technische Universität Braunschweig, Braunschweig, Germany.
| | | | - Dalial Freitak
- Institute for Biology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
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4
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Cease AJ. How Nutrients Mediate the Impacts of Global Change on Locust Outbreaks. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2024; 69:527-550. [PMID: 38270985 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-120220-110415] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/27/2024]
Abstract
Locusts are grasshoppers that can migrate en masse and devastate food security. Plant nutrient content is a key variable influencing population dynamics, but the relationship is not straightforward. For an herbivore, plant quality depends not only on the balance of nutrients and antinutrients in plant tissues, which is influenced by land use and climate change, but also on the nutritional state and demands of the herbivore, as well as its capacity to extract nutrients from host plants. In contrast to the concept of a positive relationship between nitrogen or protein concentration and herbivore performance, a five-decade review of lab and field studies indicates that equating plant N to plant quality is misleading because grasshoppers respond negatively or neutrally to increasing plant N just as often as they respond positively. For locusts specifically, low-N environments are actually beneficial because they supply high energy rates that support migration. Therefore, intensive land use, such as continuous grazing or cropping, and elevated ambient CO2 levels that decrease the protein:carbohydrate ratios of plants are predicted to broadly promote locust outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianne J Cease
- School of Sustainability, School of Life Sciences, and Global Locust Initiative, Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, USA;
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Ponton F, Tan YX, Forster CC, Austin AJ, English S, Cotter SC, Wilson K. The complex interactions between nutrition, immunity and infection in insects. J Exp Biol 2023; 226:jeb245714. [PMID: 38095228 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.245714] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/18/2023]
Abstract
Insects are the most diverse animal group on the planet. Their success is reflected by the diversity of habitats in which they live. However, these habitats have undergone great changes in recent decades; understanding how these changes affect insect health and fitness is an important challenge for insect conservation. In this Review, we focus on the research that links the nutritional environment with infection and immune status in insects. We first discuss the research from the field of nutritional immunology, and we then investigate how factors such as intracellular and extracellular symbionts, sociality and transgenerational effects may interact with the connection between nutrition and immunity. We show that the interactions between nutrition and resistance can be highly specific to insect species and/or infection type - this is almost certainly due to the diversity of insect social interactions and life cycles, and the varied environments in which insects live. Hence, these connections cannot be easily generalised across insects. We finally suggest that other environmental aspects - such as the use of agrochemicals and climatic factors - might also influence the interaction between nutrition and resistance, and highlight how research on these is essential.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fleur Ponton
- School of Natural Sciences , Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Yin Xun Tan
- School of Natural Sciences , Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia
| | - Casey C Forster
- School of Natural Sciences , Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW 2109, Australia
| | | | - Sinead English
- School of Biological Sciences , University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1QU, UK
| | | | - Kenneth Wilson
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
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6
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Srygley RB. Selective protein self-deprivation by Mormon crickets following fungal attack. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 149:104555. [PMID: 37595783 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2023.104555] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2023] [Revised: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/20/2023]
Abstract
Immune responses to infection result in behavioral changes that affect resource acquisition, such as general starvation and compensatory feeding to offset changes in resource allocation. Mormon crickets aggregate and march in bands containing millions of insects. Some bands are comprised of insects seeking proteins. They are also low in circulating phenoloxidase (PO) and more susceptible to fungal attack, as we have demonstrated in the lab. Here, we ask: Do Mormon crickets elevate PO and consume protein in response to infection by the pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana? B. bassiana was applied topically (day 0), and mortality began on day 5. Total protein, PO, and prophenoloxidase (proPO) were assayed in hemolymph on day 1 and 4. On day 1, PO titers were not different between inoculated and control insects, whereas by day 4, PO was greater in the inoculated group. proPO activity was unchanged. Circulating protein declined in inoculated insects relative to controls. As predicted, PO titers were elevated as a result of fungal infection, and hemolymph protein was reduced, but the insects did not compensate behaviorally. Indeed, during the first three days post-infection, infected insects reduced protein consumption while maintaining carbohydrate consumption similar to the controls. Following day 3, a more general reduction in protein and carbohydrate intake was evident in infected insects. Survivorship to infection was associated with the amount of protein consumed and unrelated to carbohydrate consumption. Selective protein deprivation by the host seems counterintuitive, but it might limit growth and toxin production by the invading fungus. Alternatively, the fungus might control the host diet to compromise host immunity to infection. Abrupt changes in allocation resulting from an infection can lead to changes in acquisition that are not always intuitive. Because protein acquisition drives aggression between members of the migratory band, B. bassiana application may reduce cannibalism and slow band movement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert B Srygley
- USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, 1500 N. Central Ave., Sidney, MT 59270, USA.
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7
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Wang JL, Sun J, Song YJ, Zheng HH, Wang GJ, Luo WX, Li L, Liu XS. An entomopathogenic fungus exploits its host humoral antibacterial immunity to minimize bacterial competition in the hemolymph. MICROBIOME 2023; 11:116. [PMID: 37210573 DOI: 10.1186/s40168-023-01538-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The insect hemolymph (blood-equivalent fluid), composed of a large number of hemocytes (blood cells) and a variety of soluble immune effectors, is hostile for pathogens including fungi. In order to survive in the insect hemocoel (body cavity), the entomopathogenic fungus (EPF) has evolved two classical coping strategies, namely evasion and suppression of the host immune reactions. However, it remains unclear whether EPF has other ways of coping with host immunity. RESULTS In this study, we demonstrated that Metarhizium rileyi (an EPF) infection by injection of blastospores into the hemocoel enhanced the plasma antibacterial activity of cotton bollworm (Helicoverpa armigera), which was partially due to the enhanced expression of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). The early stage of M. rileyi infection induced the translocation of gut bacteria into the hemocoel, where they were subsequently cleared due to the enhanced plasma antibacterial activity. Further, we showed that the enhanced plasma antibacterial activity and AMP expression were attributable to M. rileyi but not the invasive gut bacteria (opportunistic bacteria). Elevated ecdysone (major steroid hormone in insects) levels in the hemolymph at 48 h post-M. rileyi infection might contribute to the enhanced expression of AMPs. The fungus-elicited AMPs, such as cecropin 3 or lebocin, exhibited potent inhibitory activity against the opportunistic bacteria but not against hyphal bodies. In addition, the opportunistic bacteria competed with hyphal bodies for amino acid nutrients. CONCLUSIONS M. rileyi infection induced the translocation of gut bacteria, and then the fungi activated and exploited its host humoral antibacterial immunity to eliminate opportunistic bacteria, preventing them from competing for nutrients in the hemolymph. Unlike the classical strategies, EPF utilizes to evade or suppress host immunity, our findings reveal a novel strategy of interaction between EPF and host immunity. Video Abstract.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jia-Lin Wang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Jing Sun
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Ya-Jing Song
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Huan-Huan Zheng
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Gui-Jie Wang
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Wen-Xia Luo
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Li Li
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China
| | - Xu-Sheng Liu
- Hubei Key Laboratory of Genetic Regulation and Integrative Biology, School of Life Sciences, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, 430079, China.
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8
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Reinbacher L, Praprotnik E, Razinger J, Bacher S, Grabenweger G. Influence of Wireworm Diet on its Susceptibility to and Control With the Entomopathogenic Fungus Metarhizium brunneum (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) in Laboratory and Field Settings. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 2023; 116:108-118. [PMID: 36575909 PMCID: PMC9912137 DOI: 10.1093/jee/toac198] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/25/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) represent promising control agents against wireworms but success in field experiments is inconsistent. The physiological condition of the targeted insect is crucial for its ability to withstand fungal infection. In particular, nutritional status is among the most important determinants of the insects' immune defense. In this study, we investigated the effects of diet on the development of the wireworm Agriotes obscurus (L.) (Coleoptera: Elateridae) and its subsequent susceptibility to the fungal pathogen Metarhizium brunneum (Petch) (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) in a pot experiment. After being reared on one of five plant diets for eight weeks, wireworms were exposed to an environment inoculated with the EPF and monitored for their susceptibility to fungal infection. We then performed a field experiment in which three plant diets (clover, radish, and a cover crop mix), selected according to the insects' performance in the laboratory experiment, were grown as a cover crop with EPF application. Plant diet influenced growth and development of larvae, but there were no strong differences in susceptibility toward fungal infection in the laboratory experiment. Damage levels in EPF-treated plots in the field varied depending on the cover crop. Damage was highest in plots planted with a mix of cover crop species, whereas damage was lowest in plots with clover or radish alone. This agrees with the laboratory results where insect performance was inferior when fed on clover or radish. Cover crop effects on wireworm damage in the subsequent cash crop may thus vary depending on the cover crop species selected.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eva Praprotnik
- Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Plant Protection Department, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Jaka Razinger
- Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, Plant Protection Department, Ljubljana, Slovenia
| | - Sven Bacher
- University of Fribourg, Department of Biology, Unit of Ecology and Evolution, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Giselher Grabenweger
- Agroscope, Extension Arable Crops, Departement Plants and Plant Products, Zurich, Switzerland
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9
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Letendre C, Rios‐Villamil A, Williams A, Rapkin J, Sakaluk SK, House CM, Hunt J. Evolution of immune function in response to dietary macronutrients in male and female decorated crickets. J Evol Biol 2022; 35:1465-1474. [PMID: 36129960 PMCID: PMC9826279 DOI: 10.1111/jeb.14093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2021] [Revised: 06/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/11/2023]
Abstract
Although dietary macronutrients are known to regulate insect immunity, few studies have examined their evolutionary effects. Here, we evaluate this relationship in the cricket Gryllodes sigillatus by maintaining replicate populations on four diets differing in protein (P) to carbohydrate (C) ratio (P- or C-biased) and nutritional content (low- or high-nutrition) for >37 generations. We split each population into two; one maintained on their evolution diet and the other switched to their ancestral diet. We also maintained populations exclusively on the ancestral diet (baseline). After three generations, we measured three immune parameters in males and females from each population. Immunity was higher on P-biased than C-biased diets and on low- versus high-nutrition diets, although the latter was most likely driven by compensatory feeding. These patterns persisted in populations switched to their ancestral diet, indicating genetic divergence. Crickets evolving on C-biased diets had lower immunity than the baseline, whereas their P-biased counterparts had similar or higher immunity than the baseline, indicating that populations evolved with dietary manipulation. Although females exhibited superior immunity for all assays, the sexes showed similar immune changes across diets. Our work highlights the important role that macronutrient intake plays in the evolution of immunity in the sexes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Corinne Letendre
- School of ScienceWestern Sydney UniversityRichmondNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Alejandro Rios‐Villamil
- Hawkesbury Institute for the EnvironmentWestern Sydney UniversityRichmondNew South WalesAustralia
| | - Alexandria Williams
- School of ScienceWestern Sydney UniversityRichmondNew South WalesAustralia,Hawkesbury Institute for the EnvironmentWestern Sydney UniversityRichmondNew South WalesAustralia
| | - James Rapkin
- Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterPenrynUK
| | - Scott K. Sakaluk
- School of Biological SciencesIllinois State UniversityNormalIllinoisUSA
| | - Clarissa M. House
- School of ScienceWestern Sydney UniversityRichmondNew South WalesAustralia
| | - John Hunt
- School of ScienceWestern Sydney UniversityRichmondNew South WalesAustralia,Centre for Ecology and Conservation, College of Life and Environmental SciencesUniversity of ExeterPenrynUK
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10
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Janmaat A, Fung V, Rempel C, Quik R, Kabaluk T, Cory J. Lack of avoidance of the fungal entomopathogen, Metarhizium brunneum, by male Agriotes obscurus beetles. J Invertebr Pathol 2022; 194:107824. [PMID: 36030047 DOI: 10.1016/j.jip.2022.107824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Fungal entomopathogens can greatly reduce the fitness of their hosts, and it is therefore expected that susceptible insects will be selected to avoid exposure to pathogens. Metarhizium brunneum is a fungal pathogen that can infect Agriotes obscurus, which in its larval form is a destructive agricultural pest and is repelled by the presence of M. brunneum conidia. Due to the subterranean nature of larval A. obscurus, recent research has focused on targeting adult A. obscurus with M. brunneum. No-choice and choice behavioural assays were conducted to determine if male adult A. obscurus avoid M. brunneum mycosed cadavers, or conidia applied to either food or soil. To further investigate the response of A. obscurus beetles to conspecific cadavers, the movement and behaviour of beetles placed at the centre of a semi-circular arrangement of mycosed or control cadavers was examined using motion tracking software. We found little evidence to suggest that A. obscurus male beetles avoid M. brunneum conidia or mycosed conspecific cadavers or alter their behaviour in their presence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alida Janmaat
- Biology Department, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC, Canada.
| | - Vincent Fung
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Chera Rempel
- Biology Department, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC, Canada
| | - Rita Quik
- Biology Department, University of the Fraser Valley, Abbotsford, BC, Canada
| | - Todd Kabaluk
- Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Agassiz, BC, Canada
| | - Jenny Cory
- Department of Biological Sciences, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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11
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Sieksmeyer T, He S, Esparza-Mora MA, Jiang S, Petrašiūnaitė V, Kuropka B, Banasiak R, Julseth MJ, Weise C, Johnston PR, Rodríguez-Rojas A, McMahon DP. Eating in a losing cause: limited benefit of modified macronutrient consumption following infection in the oriental cockroach Blatta orientalis. BMC Ecol Evol 2022; 22:67. [PMID: 35585501 PMCID: PMC9118584 DOI: 10.1186/s12862-022-02007-8] [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] [Received: 01/17/2021] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Host-pathogen interactions can lead to dramatic changes in host feeding behaviour. One aspect of this includes self-medication, where infected individuals consume substances such as toxins or alter their macronutrient consumption to enhance immune competence. Another widely adopted animal response to infection is illness-induced anorexia, which is thought to assist host immunity directly or by limiting the nutritional resources available to pathogens. Here, we recorded macronutrient preferences of the global pest cockroach, Blatta orientalis to investigate how shifts in host macronutrient dietary preference and quantity of carbohydrate (C) and protein (P) interact with immunity following bacterial infection. RESULTS We find that B. orientalis avoids diets enriched for P under normal conditions, and that high P diets reduce cockroach survival in the long term. However, following bacterial challenge, cockroaches significantly reduced their overall nutrient intake, particularly of carbohydrates, and increased the relative ratio of protein (P:C) consumed. Surprisingly, these behavioural shifts had a limited effect on cockroach immunity and survival, with minor changes to immune protein abundance and antimicrobial activity between individuals placed on different diets, regardless of infection status. CONCLUSIONS We show that cockroach feeding behaviour can be modulated by a pathogen, resulting in an illness-induced anorexia-like feeding response and a shift from a C-enriched to a more P:C equal diet. However, our results also indicate that such responses do not provide significant immune protection in B. orientalis, suggesting that the host's dietary shift might also result from random rather than directed behaviour. The lack of an apparent benefit of the shift in feeding behaviour highlights a possible reduced importance of diet in immune regulation in these invasive animals, although further investigations employing pathogens with alternative infection strategies are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thorben Sieksmeyer
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany.,Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Biotechnology, German Institute of Food Technology (DIL e.V.), Prof.-von-Klitzing-Str. 7, 49610, Quakenbrück, Germany
| | - Shulin He
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany.,Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany
| | - M Alejandra Esparza-Mora
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany.,Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany
| | - Shixiong Jiang
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany.,Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany
| | - Vesta Petrašiūnaitė
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Benno Kuropka
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Thielallee 63, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Ronald Banasiak
- Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany
| | - Mara Jean Julseth
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christoph Weise
- Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Thielallee 63, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Paul R Johnston
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany.,Leibniz-Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries (IGB), Müggelseedamm 310, 12587, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Center for Genomics in Biodiversity Research, Königin-Luise-Str. 6-8, 14195, Berlin, Germany
| | - Alexandro Rodríguez-Rojas
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany.,Internal Medicine, Vetmeduni Vienna, Veterinaerplätz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria
| | - Dino P McMahon
- Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, Schwendenerstr. 1, 14195, Berlin, Germany. .,Department for Materials and Environment, BAM Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, Unter den Eichen 87, 12205, Berlin, Germany.
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12
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Cotter SC, Al Shareefi E. Nutritional ecology, infection and immune defence - exploring the mechanisms. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2022; 50:100862. [PMID: 34952240 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2021.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2021] [Revised: 12/01/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Diet can impact the outcome of parasitic infection in three, non-mutually exclusive ways: 1) by changing the physiological environment of the host, such as the availability of key nutritional resources, the presence of toxic dietary chemicals, the pH or osmolality of the blood or gut, 2) by enhancing the immune response and 3) by altering the presence of host microbiota, which help to digest nutrients and are a potential source of antibiotics. We show that there are no clear patterns in the effects of diet across taxa and that good evidence for the mechanisms by which diet exerts its effects are often lacking. More studies are required to understand the mechanisms of action if we are to discern patterns that can be generalised across host and parasite taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheena C Cotter
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln LN6 7TS, UK.
| | - Ekhlas Al Shareefi
- Dept of Biology, College of Science for Women, University of Babylon, Hillah-Babil, Iraq
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13
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Le Gall M, Word ML, Beye A, Cease AJ. Physiological status is a stronger predictor of nutrient selection than ambient plant nutrient content for a wild herbivore. CURRENT RESEARCH IN INSECT SCIENCE 2020; 1:100004. [PMID: 36003608 PMCID: PMC9387501 DOI: 10.1016/j.cris.2020.100004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2020] [Revised: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/23/2020] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
There is generally a close relationship between a consumer's food and its optimal nutrients. When there is a mismatch, it is hypothesized that mobile herbivores switch between food items to balance nutrients, however, there are limited data for field populations. In this study, we measured ambient plant nutrient content at two time points and contrasted our results with the nutrient ratio selected by wild female and male grasshoppers (Oedaleus senegalensis). Few plants were near O. senegalensis' optimal protein:carbohydrate ratio (P:C), nor were plants complementary. Grasshoppers collected earlier all regulated for a carbohydrate-biased ratio but females ate slightly more protein. We hypothesized that the long migration undertaken by this species may explain its carbohydrate needs. In contrast to most laboratory studies, grasshoppers collected later did not tightly regulate their P:C. These results suggest that field populations are not shifting their P:C to match seasonal plant nutrient shifts and that mobile herbivores rely on post-ingestive mechanisms in the face of environmental variation. Because this is among the first studies to examine the relationship between ambient nutrient landscape and physiological state our data are a key step in bridging knowledge acquired from lab studies to hypotheses regarding the role ecological factors play in foraging strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion Le Gall
- School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Mira L. Word
- School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
| | - Alioune Beye
- Direction de la Protection des Végétaux, Nganda, Senegal
| | - Arianne J. Cease
- School of Sustainability, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, United States
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14
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Wilson K, Holdbrook R, Reavey CE, Randall JL, Tummala Y, Ponton F, Simpson SJ, Smith JA, Cotter SC. Osmolality as a Novel Mechanism Explaining Diet Effects on the Outcome of Infection with a Blood Parasite. Curr Biol 2020; 30:2459-2467.e3. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2020.04.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2020] [Revised: 03/19/2020] [Accepted: 04/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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15
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Kelly CD, Mc Cabe Leroux J. No evidence of sickness behavior in immune-challenged field crickets. Ecol Evol 2020; 10:6049-6058. [PMID: 32607212 PMCID: PMC7319135 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6349] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2020] [Revised: 04/07/2020] [Accepted: 04/17/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Sickness behavior is a taxonomically widespread coordinated set of behavioral changes that increases shelter-seeking while reducing levels of general activity, as well as food (anorexia) and water (adipsia) consumption, when fighting infection by pathogens and disease. The leading hypothesis explaining such sickness-related shifts in behavior is the energy conservation hypothesis. This hypothesis argues that sick (i.e., immune-challenged) animals reduce energetic expenditure in order have more energy to fuel an immune response, which in some vertebrates, also includes producing an energetically expensive physiological fever. We experimentally tested the hypothesis that an immune challenge with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) will cause Gryllus firmus field crickets to reduce their activity, increase shelter use and avoid foods that interfere with an immune response (i.e., fat) while preferring a diet that fuels an immune response (i.e., protein). We found little evidence of sickness behavior in Gryllus firmus as immune-challenged individuals did not reduce their activity or increase their shelter-seeking. Neither did we observe changes in feeding or drinking behavior nor a preference for protein or avoidance of lipids. Males tended to use shelters less than females but no other behaviors differed between the sexes. The lack of sickness behavior in our study might reflect the fact that invertebrates do not possess energetically expensive physiological fever as part of their immune response. Therefore, there is little reason to conserve energy via reduced activity or increased shelter use when immune-challenged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clint D. Kelly
- Département des Sciences biologiquesUniversité du Québec à MontréalMontrealQCCanada
| | - Jules Mc Cabe Leroux
- Département des Sciences biologiquesUniversité du Québec à MontréalMontrealQCCanada
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16
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Ponton F, Morimoto J, Robinson K, Kumar SS, Cotter SC, Wilson K, Simpson SJ. Macronutrients modulate survival to infection and immunity in Drosophila. J Anim Ecol 2019; 89:460-470. [PMID: 31658371 PMCID: PMC7027473 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13126] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2019] [Accepted: 07/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Immunity and nutrition are two essential modulators of individual fitness. However, while the implications of immune function and nutrition on an individual's lifespan and reproduction are well established, the interplay between feeding behaviour, infection and immune function remains poorly understood. Asking how ecological and physiological factors affect immune responses and resistance to infections is a central theme of eco‐immunology. In this study, we used the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, to investigate how infection through septic injury modulates nutritional intake and how macronutrient balance affects survival to infection by the pathogenic Gram‐positive bacterium Micrococcus luteus. Our results show that infected flies maintain carbohydrate intake, but reduce protein intake, thereby shifting from a protein‐to‐carbohydrate (P:C) ratio of ~1:4 to ~1:10 relative to non‐infected and sham‐infected flies. Strikingly, the proportion of flies dying after M. luteus infection was significantly lower when flies were fed a low‐P high‐C diet, revealing that flies shift their macronutrient intake as means of nutritional self‐medication against bacterial infection. These results are likely due to the effects of the macronutrient balance on the regulation of the constitutive expression of innate immune genes, as a low‐P high‐C diet was linked to an upregulation in the expression of key antimicrobial peptides. Together, our results reveal the intricate relationship between macronutrient intake and resistance to infection and integrate the molecular cross‐talk between metabolic and immune pathways into the framework of nutritional immunology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fleur Ponton
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Juliano Morimoto
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Katie Robinson
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Sheemal S Kumar
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | | | - Kenneth Wilson
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
| | - Stephen J Simpson
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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17
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Le Gall M, Overson R, Cease A. A Global Review on Locusts (Orthoptera: Acrididae) and Their Interactions With Livestock Grazing Practices. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
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18
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de Roode JC, Hunter MD. Self-medication in insects: when altered behaviors of infected insects are a defense instead of a parasite manipulation. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2019; 33:1-6. [PMID: 31358187 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2018] [Revised: 12/05/2018] [Accepted: 12/07/2018] [Indexed: 06/10/2023]
Abstract
Studies have demonstrated that medication behaviors by insects are much more common than previously thought. Bees, ants, flies, and butterflies can use a wide range of toxic and nutritional compounds to medicate themselves or their genetic kin. Medication occurs either in response to active infection (therapy) or high infection risk (prophylaxis), and can be used to increase resistance or tolerance to infection. While much progress has been made over the last few years, there are also key areas that require in-depth investigation. These include quantifying the costs of medication, especially at the colony level of social insects, and formulating theoretical models that can predict the role of infection risk in driving micro-evolutionary and macro-evolutionary patterns of animal medication behaviors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacobus C de Roode
- Department of Biology, Emory University, 1510 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
| | - Mark D Hunter
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Michigan, 1105 N University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, United States
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19
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Cotter SC, Reavey CE, Tummala Y, Randall JL, Holdbrook R, Ponton F, Simpson SJ, Smith JA, Wilson K. Diet modulates the relationship between immune gene expression and functional immune responses. INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2019; 109:128-141. [PMID: 30954680 PMCID: PMC6527921 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibmb.2019.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2019] [Revised: 04/01/2019] [Accepted: 04/02/2019] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Nutrition is vital to health and the availability of resources has long been acknowledged as a key factor in the ability to fight off parasites, as investing in the immune system is costly. Resources have typically been considered as something of a "black box", with the quantity of available food being used as a proxy for resource limitation. However, food is a complex mixture of macro- and micronutrients, the precise balance of which determines an animal's fitness. Here we use a state-space modelling approach, the Geometric Framework for Nutrition (GFN), to assess for the first time, how the balance and amount of nutrients affects an animal's ability to mount an immune response to a pathogenic infection. Spodoptera littoralis caterpillars were assigned to one of 20 diets that varied in the ratio of macronutrients (protein and carbohydrate) and their calorie content to cover a large region of nutrient space. Caterpillars were then handled or injected with either live or dead Xenorhabdus nematophila bacterial cells. The expression of nine genes (5 immune, 4 non-immune) was measured 20 h post immune challenge. For two of the immune genes (PPO and Lysozyme) we also measured the relevant functional immune response in the hemolymph. Gene expression and functional immune responses were then mapped against nutritional intake. The expression of all immune genes was up-regulated by injection with dead bacteria, but only those in the IMD pathway (Moricin and Relish) were substantially up-regulated by both dead and live bacterial challenge. Functional immune responses increased with the protein content of the diet but the expression of immune genes was much less predictable. Our results indicate that diet does play an important role in the ability of an animal to mount an adequate immune response, with the availability of protein being the most important predictor of the functional (physiological) immune response. Importantly, however, immune gene expression responds quite differently to functional immunity and we would caution against using gene expression as a proxy for immune investment, as it is unlikely to be reliable indicator of the immune response, except under specific dietary conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheena C Cotter
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, LN6 7TS, UK.
| | - Catherine E Reavey
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Yamini Tummala
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Joanna L Randall
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Robert Holdbrook
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
| | - Fleur Ponton
- Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia; Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | | | - Judith A Smith
- School of Forensic and Applied Sciences, University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 2HE, UK
| | - Kenneth Wilson
- Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, LA1 4YQ, UK
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20
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Al Shareefi E, Cotter SC. The nutritional ecology of maturation in a carnivorous insect. Behav Ecol 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary142] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Ekhlas Al Shareefi
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen’s University Belfast, MBC, Belfast, UK
| | - Sheena C Cotter
- School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire, UK
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21
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Hsu HW, Chiu MC, Shoemaker D, Yang CCS. Viral infections in fire ants lead to reduced foraging activity and dietary changes. Sci Rep 2018; 8:13498. [PMID: 30202033 PMCID: PMC6131164 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-31969-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2018] [Accepted: 08/30/2018] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite the presence of conserved innate immune function, many insects have evolved a variety of mechanical, chemical, and behavioral defensive responses to pathogens. Illness-induced anorexia and dietary changes are two behavioral defensive strategies found in some solitary insects, but little is known regarding the role of such behaviors in social insects, especially in ants. In the present study we examined if such reduced foraging activity exists for a social insect, the invasive fire ant Solenopsis invicta, and its viral pathogen, Solenopsis invicta virus 1 (SINV-1). Virus-free fire ant colonies were split into two colony fragments, one of which subsequently was inoculated with SINV-1. Four food resources with different macronutrient ratios were presented to both colony fragments. SINV-1-inoculated colony fragments consistently displayed reduced foraging performance (e.g., foraging intensity and recruitment efficiency), a decline in lipid intake, and a shift in dietary preference to carbohydrate-rich foods compared with virus-free fragments. These findings provide the first evidence for virus-induced behavioral responses and dietary shifts in shaping the host-pathogen interactions in fire ants. The findings also suggest a possible mechanism for how fire ant colonies respond to viral epidemics. Potential implications of these behavioral differences for current management strategies are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hung-Wei Hsu
- Laboratory of Insect Ecology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa Oiwakecho, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan.,Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan
| | - Ming-Chung Chiu
- Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan.,Department of Biological Resources, National Chiayi University, Chiayi, 600, Taiwan
| | - DeWayne Shoemaker
- Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996, USA
| | - Chin-Cheng Scotty Yang
- Research Institute for Sustainable Humanosphere, Kyoto University, Gokasho, Uji, Kyoto, 611-0011, Japan.
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22
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Ferguson JA, Northfield TD, Lach L. Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Pollen Foraging Reflects Benefits Dependent on Individual Infection Status. MICROBIAL ECOLOGY 2018; 76:482-491. [PMID: 29380027 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-018-1147-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2018] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Parasites often modify host foraging behavior, for example, by spurring changes to nutrient intake ratios or triggering self-medication. The gut parasite, Nosema ceranae, increases energy needs of the European or Western honey bee (Apis mellifera), but little is known about how infection affects foraging behavior. We used a combination of experiments and observations of caged and free-flying individual bees and hives to determine how N. ceranae affects honey bee foraging behavior. In an experiment with caged bees, we found that infected bees with access to a high-quality pollen were more likely to survive than infected bees with access to a lower quality pollen or no pollen. Non-infected bees showed no difference in survival with pollen quality. We then tested free-flying bees in an arena of artificial flowers and found that pollen foraging bees chose pollen commensurate with their infection status; twice as many infected bees selected the higher quality pollen than the lower quality pollen, while healthy bees showed no preference between pollen types. However, healthy and infected bees visited sucrose and pollen flowers in the same proportions. Among hive-level observations, we found no significant correlations between N. ceranae infection intensity in the hive and the proportion of bees returning with pollen. Our results indicate that N. ceranae-infected bees benefit from increased pollen quality and will selectively forage for higher quality while foraging for pollen, but infection status does not lead to increased pollen foraging at either the individual or hive levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jade A Ferguson
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland, 4870, Australia
| | - Tobin D Northfield
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland, 4870, Australia
| | - Lori Lach
- Centre for Tropical Environmental and Sustainability Science, College of Science and Engineering, James Cook University, PO Box 6811, Cairns, Queensland, 4870, Australia.
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23
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Srygley RB, Jaronski ST. Protein deficiency lowers resistance of Mormon crickets to the pathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. JOURNAL OF INSECT PHYSIOLOGY 2018; 105:40-45. [PMID: 29355499 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2018.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2017] [Revised: 01/12/2018] [Accepted: 01/14/2018] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
Little is known about the effects of dietary macronutrients on the capacity of insects to ward off a fungal pathogen. Here we tested the hypothesis that Mormon crickets fed restricted protein diets have lower enzymatic assays of generalized immunity, slower rates of encapsulation of foreign bodies, and greater mortality from infection by Beauveria bassiana, a fungal pathogen. Beginning in the last nymphal instar, Mormon crickets were fed a high, intermediate, or low protein diet with correspondingly low, intermediate, or high carbohydrate proportions. After they eclosed to adult, we drew hemolymph, topically applied B. bassiana, maintained them on diet treatments, and measured mortality for 21 days. Mormon crickets fed high protein diets had higher prophenoloxidase titers, greater encapsulation response, and higher survivorship to Beauveria fungal infection than those on low protein diets. We replicated the study adding very high and very low protein diets to the treatments. A high protein diet increased phenoloxidase titers, and those fed the very high protein diet had more circulating prophenoloxidase. Mormon crickets fed the very low protein diet were the most susceptible to B. bassiana infection, but the more concentrated phenoloxidase and prophenoloxidase associated with the highest protein diets did not confer the greatest protection from the fungal pathogen as in the first replicate. We conclude that protein-restricted diets caused Mormon crickets to have lower phenoloxidase titers, slower encapsulation of foreign bodies, and greater mortality from B. bassiana infection than those fed high protein diets. These results support the nutrition-based dichotomy of migrating Mormon crickets, protein-deficient ones are more susceptible to pathogenic fungi whereas carbohydrate-deficient ones are more vulnerable to bacterial challenge.
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Affiliation(s)
- R B Srygley
- Pest Management Research Unit, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 1500 N. Central Ave., Sidney, MT 59270, United States.
| | - S T Jaronski
- Pest Management Research Unit, Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, USDA-Agricultural Research Service, 1500 N. Central Ave., Sidney, MT 59270, United States
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24
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Miller CVL, Cotter SC. Resistance and tolerance: The role of nutrients on pathogen dynamics and infection outcomes in an insect host. J Anim Ecol 2017; 87:500-510. [PMID: 28975615 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12763] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2017] [Accepted: 08/11/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Tolerance and resistance are the two ways in which hosts can lessen the effects of infection. Tolerance aims to minimize the fitness effects resulting from incumbent pathogen populations, whereas resistance aims to reduce the pathogen population size within the host. While environmental impacts on resistance have been extensively, recorded their impacts on variation in tolerance are virtually unexplored. Here, we ask how the environment, namely the host diet, influences the capacity of an organism to tolerate and resist infection, using a model host-parasite system, the burying beetle, Nicrophorus vespilloides and the entomopathogenic bacteria, Photorhabdus luminescens. We first considered dose-responses and pathogen dynamics within the host, and compared our findings to responses known from other host species. We then investigated how investment in tolerance and resistance changed under different nutritional regimes. Beetles were maintained on one of five diets that varied in their ratio of protein to fat for 48 hr and then injected with P. luminescens. Survival was monitored and the phenoloxidase (PO) response and bacterial load at 24-hr postinfection were ascertained. The dose required to kill 50% of individuals in this species was several magnitudes higher than in other species and the bacteria were shown to display massive decreases in population size, in contrast to patterns of proliferation found in other host species. Diet strongly modified host survival after infection, with those on the high fat/low protein diet showing 30% survival at 8 days, vs. almost 0% survival on the low-fat/high-protein diet. However, this was independent of bacterial load or variation in PO, providing evidence for diet-mediated tolerance mechanisms rather than immune-driven resistance. Evolutionary ecology has long focussed on immune resistance when investigating how organisms avoid succumbing to infection. Tolerance of infection has recently become a much more prominent concept and is suggested to be influential in disease dynamics. This is one of the first studies to find diet-mediated tolerance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte V L Miller
- School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK.,School of Life Sciences, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, UK
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25
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Co-inoculum of Beauveria brongniartii and B. bassiana shows in vitro different metabolic behaviour in comparison to single inoculums. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13102. [PMID: 29026120 PMCID: PMC5638874 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-12700-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2017] [Accepted: 09/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The use of entomopathogenic fungi for biocontrol of plant pests is recently receiving an increased interest due to the need of reducing the impact of agricultural practices on the environment. Biocontrol efficacy could be improved by co-inoculation of different microorganisms. However, interactions between the fungal species can trigger or depress the biocontrol activity. Co-inoculation of two entomopathogenic fungi (Beauveria bassiana and B. brongniartii) was performed in vitro to evaluate the effects of their joint behaviour on a range of different carbon sources in comparison to single inoculation. The two species showed a very different metabolic profile by Phenotype MicroArrayTM. B. bassiana showed a broader metabolism than B. brongniartii on a range of substrates. B. brongniartii showed a greater specificity in substrate utilization. Several carbon sources (L-Asparagine, L-Aspartic Acid, L- Glutamic Acid, m- Erythritol, D-Melezitose, D-Sorbitol) triggered the fungal metabolism in the co-inoculum. SSR markers and Real Time qPCR analysis showed that different substrates promoted either the growth of one or the other species, suggesting a form of interaction between the two fungi, related to their different ecological niches. The methodological approach that combines Phenotype MicroArrayTM and SSR genotyping appeared useful to assess the performance and potential competition of co-inoculated entomopathogenic fungi.
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26
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Wong ACN, Wang QP, Morimoto J, Senior AM, Lihoreau M, Neely GG, Simpson SJ, Ponton F. Gut Microbiota Modifies Olfactory-Guided Microbial Preferences and Foraging Decisions in Drosophila. Curr Biol 2017; 27:2397-2404.e4. [PMID: 28756953 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2017.07.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 122] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2016] [Revised: 05/26/2017] [Accepted: 07/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
The gut microbiota affects a wide spectrum of host physiological traits, including development [1-5], germline [6], immunity [7-9], nutrition [4, 10, 11], and longevity [12, 13]. Association with microbes also influences fitness-related behaviors such as mating [14] and social interactions [15, 16]. Although the gut microbiota is evidently important for host wellbeing, how hosts become associated with particular assemblages of microbes from the environment remains unclear. Here, we present evidence that the gut microbiota can modify microbial and nutritional preferences of Drosophila melanogaster. By experimentally manipulating the gut microbiota of flies subjected to behavioral and chemosensory assays, we found that fly-microbe attractions are shaped by the identity of the host microbiota. Conventional flies exhibit preference for their associated Lactobacillus, a behavior also present in axenic flies as adults and marginally as larvae. By contrast, fly preference for Acetobacter is primed by early-life exposure and can override the innate preference. These microbial preferences are largely olfactory guided and have profound impact on host foraging, as flies continuously trade off between acquiring beneficial microbes and balancing nutrients from food. Our study shows a role of animal microbiota in shaping host fitness-related behavior through their chemosensory responses, opening a research theme on the interrelationships between the microbiota, host sensory perception, and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam Chun-Nin Wong
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Johns Hopkins Drive, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia.
| | - Qiao-Ping Wang
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Johns Hopkins Drive, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Juliano Morimoto
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Johns Hopkins Drive, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação, Federal University of Paraná, Caixa Postal 19031, CEP 81531-990 Curitiba, Brazil
| | - Alistair M Senior
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Johns Hopkins Drive, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia; The University of Sydney, School of Mathematics and Statistics, Eastern Ave, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Mathieu Lihoreau
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Johns Hopkins Drive, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia; Research Center on Animal Cognition (CRCA), Center for Integrative Biology (CBI), University Paul Sabatier, CNRS, UPS, 118 Route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse, France
| | - G Gregory Neely
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Johns Hopkins Drive, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Stephen J Simpson
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Johns Hopkins Drive, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Fleur Ponton
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Johns Hopkins Drive, Camperdown, NSW 2006, Australia; Department of Biological Sciences, 205A Culloden Road, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW 2109, Australia
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Shikano I. Evolutionary Ecology of Multitrophic Interactions between Plants, Insect Herbivores and Entomopathogens. J Chem Ecol 2017; 43:586-598. [DOI: 10.1007/s10886-017-0850-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Revised: 05/06/2017] [Accepted: 05/15/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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Littlefair JE, Knell RJ. Within- and Trans-Generational Effects of Variation in Dietary Macronutrient Content on Life-History Traits in the Moth Plodia interpunctella. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0168869. [PMID: 28033396 PMCID: PMC5199116 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0168869] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2016] [Accepted: 12/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
It is increasingly clear that parental environment can play an important role in determining offspring phenotype. These “transgenerational effects” have been linked to many different components of the environment, including toxin exposure, infection with pathogens and parasites, temperature and food quality. In this study, we focus on the latter, asking how variation in the quantity and quality of nutrition affects future generations. Previous studies have shown that artificial diets are a useful tool to examine the within-generation effects of variation in macronutrient content on life history traits, and could therefore be applied to investigations of the transgenerational effects of parental diet. Synthetic diets varying in total macronutrient content and protein: carbohydrate ratios were used to examine both within- and trans-generational effects on life history traits in a generalist stored product pest, the Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella. The macronutrient composition of the diet was important for shaping within-generation life history traits, including pupal weight, adult weight, and phenoloxidase activity, and had indirect effects via maternal weight on fecundity. Despite these clear within-generation effects on the biology of P. interpunctella, diet composition had no transgenerational effects on the life history traits of offspring. P. interpunctella mothers were able to maintain their offspring quality, possibly at the expense of their own somatic condition, despite high variation in dietary macronutrient composition. This has important implications for the plastic biology of this successful generalist pest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanne E. Littlefair
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Robert J. Knell
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom
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Singh D, Son SY, Lee CH. Perplexing Metabolomes in Fungal-Insect Trophic Interactions: A Terra Incognita of Mycobiocontrol Mechanisms. Front Microbiol 2016; 7:1678. [PMID: 27807434 PMCID: PMC5069422 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2016.01678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2016] [Accepted: 10/07/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The trophic interactions of entomopathogenic fungi in different ecological niches viz., soil, plants, or insect themselves are effectively regulated by their maneuvered metabolomes and the plethora of metabotypes. In this article, we discuss a holistic framework of co-evolutionary metabolomes and metabotypes to model the interactions of biocontrol fungi especially with mycosed insects. Conventionally, the studies involving fungal biocontrol mechanisms are reported in the context of much aggrandized fungal entomotoxins while the adaptive response mechanisms of host insects are relatively overlooked. The present review asserts that the selective pressure exerted among the competing or interacting species drives alterations in their overall metabolomes which ultimately implicates in corresponding metabotypes. Quintessentially, metabolomics offers a most generic and tractable model to assess the fungal-insect antagonism in terms of interaction biomarkers, biosynthetic pathway plasticity, and their co-evolutionary defense. The fungi chiefly rely on a battery of entomotoxins viz., secondary metabolites falling in the categories of NRP's (non-ribosomal peptides), PK's (polyketides), lysine derive alkaloids, and terpenoids. On the contrary, insects overcome mycosis through employing different layers of immunity manifested as altered metabotypes (phenoloxidase activity) and overall metabolomes viz., carbohydrates, lipids, fatty acids, amino acids, and eicosanoids. Here, we discuss the recent findings within conventional premise of fungal entomotoxicity and the evolution of truculent immune response among host insect. The metabolomic frameworks for fungal-insect interaction can potentially transmogrify our current comprehensions of biocontrol mechanisms to develop the hypervirulent biocontrol strains with least environmental concerns. Moreover, the interaction metabolomics (interactome) in complementation with other -omics cascades could further be applied to address the fundamental bottlenecks of adaptive co-evolution among biological species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Digar Singh
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Konkuk University Seoul, South Korea
| | - Su Y Son
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Konkuk University Seoul, South Korea
| | - Choong H Lee
- Department of Bioscience and Biotechnology, Konkuk University Seoul, South Korea
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Littlefair JE, Laughton AM, Knell RJ. Maternal pathogen exposure causes diet- and pathogen-specific transgenerational costs. OIKOS 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.03430] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Joanne E. Littlefair
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary Univ. of London; Fogg Building, Mile End Road London E1 4NS UK
| | - Alice M. Laughton
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary Univ. of London; Fogg Building, Mile End Road London E1 4NS UK
| | - Robert J. Knell
- School of Biological and Chemical Sciences; Queen Mary Univ. of London; Fogg Building, Mile End Road London E1 4NS UK
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Srygley RB. Diet Drives the Collective Migrations and Affects the Immunity of Mormon Crickets and Locusts: A Comparison of These Potential Superspreaders of Disease. Integr Comp Biol 2016; 56:268-77. [DOI: 10.1093/icb/icw035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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Aalto SL, Decaestecker E, Pulkkinen K. A three-way perspective of stoichiometric changes on host-parasite interactions. Trends Parasitol 2015; 31:333-40. [PMID: 25978937 DOI: 10.1016/j.pt.2015.04.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2015] [Revised: 04/09/2015] [Accepted: 04/09/2015] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
Abstract
Changes in environmental nutrients play a crucial role in driving disease dynamics, but global patterns in nutrient-driven changes in disease are difficult to predict. In this paper we use ecological stoichiometry as a framework to review host-parasite interactions under changing nutrient ratios, focusing on three pathways: (i) altered host resistance and parasite virulence through host stoichiometry (ii) changed encounter or contact rates at population level, and (iii) changed host community structure. We predict that the outcome of nutrient changes on host-parasite interactions depends on which pathways are modified, and suggest that the outcome of infection could depend on the overlap in stoichiometric requirements of the host and the parasite. We hypothesize that environmental nutrient enrichment alters infectivity dynamics leading to fluctuating selection dynamics in host-parasite coevolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sanni L Aalto
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland.
| | - Ellen Decaestecker
- Laboratory of Aquatic Biology, Department of Biology, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven Kulak, Etienne Sabbelaan 53, 8500 Kortrijk, Belgium
| | - Katja Pulkkinen
- Department of Biological and Environmental Science, University of Jyväskylä, PO Box 35, 40014 Jyväskylä, Finland
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Graham RI, Deacutis JM, Simpson SJ, Wilson K. Body condition constrains immune function in field populations of female Australian plague locust Chortoicetes terminifera. Parasite Immunol 2015; 37:233-41. [PMID: 25677076 DOI: 10.1111/pim.12179] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2014] [Accepted: 02/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The insect innate immune system comprises both humoral and cellular defence responses. In the laboratory, the insect immune system is well characterized. In the field, however, little is known about the role of constitutive insect immune function and how it varies within and between populations. Laboratory studies suggest that host nutrition has significant impact upon insect immune function. Thus, the rationale for this study was to sample natural populations of the Australian Plague Locust Chortoicetes terminifera to establish whether locust body condition (as determined by protein and lipid content) impacted their constitutive immune system and, as a result, has the potential to impact on their capacity to respond to a pathogenic challenge. We found that body condition varied greatly between individual female locusts within sites and that haemolymph protein levels, but not body lipid content, varied between sites. Moreover, our measures of immune function were correlated with the haemolymph levels of protein (in the case of haemocyte density), lipid (prophenoloxidase activity) or both (lysozyme-like antimicrobial activity). We discuss the implications of these findings for the role of biological pesticides in the control of locust populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- R I Graham
- School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Charles Perkins Centre, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia; Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK
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