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Marieshwari BN, Bhuvaragavan S, Sruthi K, Mullainadhan P, Janarthanan S. Insect phenoloxidase and its diverse roles: melanogenesis and beyond. J Comp Physiol B 2023; 193:1-23. [PMID: 36472653 DOI: 10.1007/s00360-022-01468-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Revised: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 11/04/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Insect life on earth is greatly diversified despite being exposed to several infectious agents due to their diverse habitats and ecological niche. One of the major factors responsible for their successful establishment is having a powerful innate immune system. The most common and effective method used by insects in recognizing pathogen and non-self-substances is the melanization process among others. The key enzyme involved in melanin biosynthesis is the copper containing humoral defense enzyme, phenoloxidase (PO). This review focused on understanding about PO and that had been in research for nearly a century. The review elaborates about evolutionary significance of PO in arthropods, its relationship with mammalian tyrosinases, various substrates, activators and inhibitors involved in the activation of phenoloxidase cascade, as it requires an integrated system of activation that vary among insect species. The enzyme also plays a vital role in insect immunity by involving in several other immune functions like sclerotization, wound healing, opsonization, encapsulation and nodule formation. Further, gene knock down or knock out of PO genes and inhibition of PO-melanization cascade by several mechanisms can also be considered as promising future alternative to control serious pests by making them highly susceptible to any targeted attack.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Kannan Sruthi
- Department of Zoology, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai, 600025, India
| | | | - Sundaram Janarthanan
- Department of Zoology, University of Madras, Guindy Campus, Chennai, 600025, India.
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Wu J, Sun T, Bashir MH, Qiu B, Wang X, Ali S. Comparative transcriptome analysis reveals differences in gene expression in whitefly following individual or combined applications of Akanthomyces attenuatus (Zare & Gams) and matrine. BMC Genomics 2022; 23:808. [PMID: 36474158 PMCID: PMC9727895 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-022-09048-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bemisia tabaci Gennadius (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a serious pest of crops in different regions of the world. Our recent studies on the joint application of Akanthomyces attenuatus (a pathogenic insect fungus) and matrine (a botanical insecticide) against B. tabaci have shown promising results. Using RNA sequencing (RNA-Seq), we identified differentially expressed genes involved in whitefly responses to single or mixed applications of A. attenuatus and matrine. METHODS In this study, we compared the transcriptome profiles of B. tabaci treated with individual and combined treatments of A. attenuatus and matrine to determine variations in gene expression among whiteflies in response to different treatments. RESULTS Transcriptomic data analysis showed differential expression of 71, 1194, and 51 genes in response to A. attenuatus (BtA), matrine (BtM), and A. attenuatus + matrine (BtAM) treatment, respectively. A total of 65 common differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified between whiteflies treated with A. attenuatus (BtA) and matrine (BtM). A comparison of DEGs across the three treatments (BtA, BtM, and BtAM) revealed two common DEGs. The results also revealed that AMPK signaling, apoptosis, and drug metabolism pathways are likely involved in whitefly defense responses against A. attenuatus and matrine infection. Furthermore, a notable suppression of general metabolism and immune response genes was observed in whiteflies treated with A. attenuatus + matrine (BtAM) compared to whiteflies treated with individual A. attenuatus (BtA) or matrine (BtM) treatments. CONCLUSION Dynamic changes in the number of differentially expressed genes were observed in B. tabaci subjected to different treatments (BtA, BtM, and BtAM). To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the molecular interactions between whitefly and individual or combined treatments of A. attenuatus and matrine. These results will further improve our knowledge of the infection mechanism and complex biochemical processes involved in the synergistic action of A. attenuatus and matrine against B. tabaci.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianhui Wu
- grid.20561.300000 0000 9546 5767Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application, Engineering Research Centre of Biological Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China ,grid.20561.300000 0000 9546 5767Engineering Research Center of Biological Control, Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China
| | - Tingfei Sun
- grid.20561.300000 0000 9546 5767Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application, Engineering Research Centre of Biological Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China ,grid.20561.300000 0000 9546 5767Engineering Research Center of Biological Control, Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China
| | - Muhammad Hamid Bashir
- grid.413016.10000 0004 0607 1563Department of Entomology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
| | - Baoli Qiu
- grid.411575.30000 0001 0345 927XChongqing Key Laboratory of Vector Insects, College of Life Sciences, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing, 401331 China
| | - Xingmin Wang
- grid.20561.300000 0000 9546 5767Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application, Engineering Research Centre of Biological Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China ,grid.20561.300000 0000 9546 5767Engineering Research Center of Biological Control, Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China
| | - Shaukat Ali
- grid.20561.300000 0000 9546 5767Key Laboratory of Bio-Pesticide Innovation and Application, Engineering Research Centre of Biological Control, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China ,grid.20561.300000 0000 9546 5767Engineering Research Center of Biological Control, Ministry of Education and Guangdong Province, South China Agricultural University, Guangzhou, 510642 China
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Simões ML, Dong Y, Mlambo G, Dimopoulos G. C-type lectin 4 regulates broad-spectrum melanization-based refractoriness to malaria parasites. PLoS Biol 2022; 20:e3001515. [PMID: 35025886 PMCID: PMC8791531 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pbio.3001515] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2021] [Revised: 01/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Anopheles gambiae melanization-based refractoriness to the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum has rarely been observed in either laboratory or natural conditions, in contrast to the rodent model malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei that can become completely melanized by a TEP1 complement-like system-dependent mechanism. Multiple studies have shown that the rodent parasite evades this defense by recruiting the C-type lectins CTL4 and CTLMA2, while permissiveness to the human malaria parasite was not affected by partial depletion of these factors by RNAi silencing. Using CRISPR/Cas9-based CTL4 knockout, we show that A. gambiae can mount melanization-based refractoriness to the human malaria parasite, which is independent of the TEP1 complement-like system and the major anti-Plasmodium immune pathway Imd. Our study indicates a hierarchical specificity in the control of Plasmodium melanization and proves CTL4 as an essential host factor for P. falciparum transmission and one of the most potent mosquito-encoded malaria transmission-blocking targets. One way to block the spread of malaria is to modify the mosquito vectors so that they are unable to transmit the parasite. This study shows that the Anopheles mosquito can be engineered to block the human malaria parasite by melanizing it while in the mosquito’s midgut.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria L. Simões
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Yuemei Dong
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Godfree Mlambo
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
| | - George Dimopoulos
- W. Harry Feinstone Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America
- * E-mail:
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Ruzzante L, Feron R, Reijnders MJMF, Thiébaut A, Waterhouse RM. Functional constraints on insect immune system components govern their evolutionary trajectories. Mol Biol Evol 2021; 39:6459179. [PMID: 34893861 PMCID: PMC8788225 DOI: 10.1093/molbev/msab352] [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: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Roles of constraints in shaping evolutionary outcomes are often considered in the contexts of developmental biology and population genetics, in terms of capacities to generate new variants and how selection limits or promotes consequent phenotypic changes. Comparative genomics also recognizes the role of constraints, in terms of shaping evolution of gene and genome architectures, sequence evolutionary rates, and gene gains or losses, as well as on molecular phenotypes. Characterizing patterns of genomic change where putative functions and interactions of system components are relatively well described offers opportunities to explore whether genes with similar roles exhibit similar evolutionary trajectories. Using insect immunity as our test case system, we hypothesize that characterizing gene evolutionary histories can define distinct dynamics associated with different functional roles. We develop metrics that quantify gene evolutionary histories, employ these to characterize evolutionary features of immune gene repertoires, and explore relationships between gene family evolutionary profiles and their roles in immunity to understand how different constraints may relate to distinct dynamics. We identified three main axes of evolutionary trajectories characterized by gene duplication and synteny, maintenance/stability and sequence conservation, and loss and sequence divergence, highlighting similar and contrasting patterns across these axes amongst subsets of immune genes. Our results suggest that where and how genes participate in immune responses limit the range of possible evolutionary scenarios they exhibit. The test case study system of insect immunity highlights the potential of applying comparative genomics approaches to characterize how functional constraints on different components of biological systems govern their evolutionary trajectories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Livio Ruzzante
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland
| | - Romain Feron
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland
| | - Maarten J M F Reijnders
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland
| | - Antonin Thiébaut
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland
| | - Robert M Waterhouse
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, University of Lausanne, and Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, 1015, Switzerland
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Goerdeler F, Seeberger PH, Moscovitz O. Unveiling the Sugary Secrets of Plasmodium Parasites. Front Microbiol 2021; 12:712538. [PMID: 34335547 PMCID: PMC8322443 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.712538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Plasmodium parasites cause malaria disease, one of the leading global health burdens for humanity, infecting hundreds of millions of people each year. Different glycans on the parasite and the host cell surface play significant roles in both malaria pathogenesis and host defense mechanisms. So far, only small, truncated N- and O-glycans have been identified in Plasmodium species. In contrast, complex glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) glycolipids are highly abundant on the parasite’s cell membrane and are essential for its survival. Moreover, the parasites express lectins that bind and exploit the host cell surface glycans for different aspects of the parasite life cycle, such as adherence, invasion, and evasion of the host immune system. In parallel, the host cell glycocalyx and lectin expression serve as the first line of defense against Plasmodium parasites and directly dictate susceptibility to Plasmodium infection. This review provides an overview of the glycobiology involved in Plasmodium-host interactions and its contribution to malaria pathogenesis. Recent findings are presented and evaluated in the context of potential therapeutic exploitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Felix Goerdeler
- Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany.,Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Peter H Seeberger
- Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany.,Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Oren Moscovitz
- Department of Biomolecular Systems, Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam, Germany
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Sousa GL, Bishnoi R, Baxter RHG, Povelones M. The CLIP-domain serine protease CLIPC9 regulates melanization downstream of SPCLIP1, CLIPA8, and CLIPA28 in the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae. PLoS Pathog 2020; 16:e1008985. [PMID: 33045027 PMCID: PMC7580898 DOI: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1008985] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2020] [Revised: 10/22/2020] [Accepted: 09/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The arthropod melanization immune response is activated by extracellular protease cascades predominantly comprised of CLIP-domain serine proteases (CLIP-SPs) and serine protease homologs (CLIP-SPHs). In the malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae, the CLIP-SPHs SPCLIP1, CLIPA8, and CLIPA28 form the core of a hierarchical cascade downstream of mosquito complement that is required for microbial melanization. However, our understanding of the regulatory relationship of the CLIP-SPH cascade with the catalytic CLIP-SPs driving melanization is incomplete. Here, we report on the development of a novel screen to identify melanization pathway components based on the quantitation of melanotic mosquito excreta, eliminating the need for microdissections or hemolymph enzymatic assays. Using this screen, we identified CLIPC9 and subsequent functional analyses established that this protease is essential for the melanization of both Escherichia coli and the rodent malaria parasite Plasmodium berghei. Mechanistically, septic infection with E. coli promotes CLIPC9 cleavage and both full-length and cleaved CLIPC9 localize to this bacterium in a CLIPA8-dependent manner. The steady state level of CLIPC9 in the hemolymph is regulated by thioester-containing protein 1 (TEP1), suggesting it functions downstream of mosquito complement. In support, CLIPC9 cleavage is inhibited following SPCLIP1, CLIPA8, and CLIPA28 knockdown positioning it downstream of the CLIP-SPH cascade. Moreover, like CLIPA8 and CLIPA28, CLIPC9 processing is negatively regulated by serine protease inhibitor 2 (SRPN2). This report demonstrates how our novel excretion-based approach can be utilized to dissect the complex protease networks regulating mosquito melanization. Collectively, our findings establish that CLIPC9 is required for microbial melanization in An. gambiae and shed light on how the CLIP-SPH cascade regulates this potent immune response.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gregory L. Sousa
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Ritika Bishnoi
- Department of Medical Genetics and Molecular Biochemistry, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Richard H. G. Baxter
- Department of Medical Genetics and Molecular Biochemistry, Lewis Katz School of Medicine, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Michael Povelones
- Department of Pathobiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States of America
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Gräwert TW, Svergun DI. Structural Modeling Using Solution Small-Angle X-ray Scattering (SAXS). J Mol Biol 2020; 432:3078-3092. [PMID: 32035901 DOI: 10.1016/j.jmb.2020.01.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2019] [Revised: 01/21/2020] [Accepted: 01/21/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) offers a way to examine the overall shape and oligomerization state of biological macromolecules under quasi native conditions in solution. In the past decades, SAXS has become a standard tool for structure biologists due to the availability of high brilliance X-ray sources and the development of data analysis/interpretation methods. Sample handling robots and software pipelines have significantly reduced the time necessary to conduct SAXS experiments. Presently, most synchrotrons feature beamlines dedicated to biological SAXS, and the SAXS-derived models are deposited into dedicated and accessible databases. The size of macromolecules that may be analyzed ranges from small peptides or snippets of nucleic acids to gigadalton large complexes or even entire viruses. Compared to other structural methods, sample preparation is straightforward, and the risk of inducing preparation artefacts is minimal. Very importantly, SAXS is a method of choice to study flexible systems like unfolded or disordered proteins, providing the structural ensembles compatible with the data. Although it may be utilized stand-alone, SAXS profits a lot from available experimental or predicted high-resolution data and information from complementary biophysical methods. Here, we show the basic principles of SAXS and review latest developments in the fields of hybrid modeling and flexible systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tobias W Gräwert
- Hamburg Outstation, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany.
| | - Dmitri I Svergun
- Hamburg Outstation, European Molecular Biology Laboratory, Notkestrasse 85, 22607 Hamburg, Germany.
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