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Becchimanzi A, Nicoletti R, Di Lelio I, Russo E. Immune Gene Repertoire of Soft Scale Insects (Hemiptera: Coccidae). Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:4922. [PMID: 38732132 PMCID: PMC11084805 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25094922] [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: 03/30/2024] [Revised: 04/25/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/13/2024] Open
Abstract
Insects possess an effective immune system, which has been extensively characterized in several model species, revealing a plethora of conserved genes involved in recognition, signaling, and responses to pathogens and parasites. However, some taxonomic groups, characterized by peculiar trophic niches, such as plant-sap feeders, which are often important pests of crops and forestry ecosystems, have been largely overlooked regarding their immune gene repertoire. Here we annotated the immune genes of soft scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccidae) for which omics data are publicly available. By using immune genes of aphids and Drosophila to query the genome of Ericerus pela, as well as the transcriptomes of Ceroplastes cirripediformis and Coccus sp., we highlight the lack of peptidoglycan recognition proteins, galectins, thaumatins, and antimicrobial peptides in Coccidae. This work contributes to expanding our knowledge about the evolutionary trajectories of immune genes and offers a list of promising candidates for developing new control strategies based on the suppression of pests' immunity through RNAi technologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Becchimanzi
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy; (A.B.); (I.D.L.); (E.R.)
- BAT Center—Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
| | - Rosario Nicoletti
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy; (A.B.); (I.D.L.); (E.R.)
- Research Centre for Olive, Fruit and Citrus Crops, Council for Agricultural Research and Economics, 81100 Caserta, Italy
| | - Ilaria Di Lelio
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy; (A.B.); (I.D.L.); (E.R.)
- BAT Center—Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy
| | - Elia Russo
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Naples Federico II, 80126 Naples, Italy; (A.B.); (I.D.L.); (E.R.)
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Liu F, Deng Y, Wang FH, Jeewon R, Zeng Q, Xu XL, Liu YG, Yang CL. Morphological and molecular analyses reveal two new species of Microcera (Nectriaceae, Hypocreales) associated with scale insects on walnut in China. MycoKeys 2023; 98:19-35. [PMID: 37287767 PMCID: PMC10242524 DOI: 10.3897/mycokeys.98.103484] [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: 03/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/10/2023] [Indexed: 06/09/2023] Open
Abstract
The fungal genus Microcera consists of species mostly occurring as parasites of scale insects, but are also commonly isolated from soil or lichens. In the present study, we surveyed the diversity and assess the taxonomy of entomopathogenic fungi in Sichuan Province, China. Two new species of Microcera, viz. M.chrysomphaludis and M.pseudaulacaspidis, were isolated from scale insects colonising walnut (Juglansregia). Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian Inference analyses of ITS, LSU, tef1-α, rpb1, rpb2, acl1, act, tub2, cmdA and his3 sequence data provide evidence for the validity of the two species and their placement in Nectriaceae (Hypocreales). Microcerapseudaulacaspidis primarily differs from similar species by having more septate and smaller cylindrical macroconidia, as well as DNA sequence data. Meanwhile, Microcerachrysomphaludis has elliptical, one-septate ascospores with acute ends and cylindrical, slightly curved with 4-6 septate macroconidia up to 78 µm long. Morphological descriptions with illustrations of the novel species and DNA-based phylogeny generated from analyses of multigene dataset are also provided to better understand species relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Feng Liu
- College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, China
| | - Yu Deng
- College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, China
| | - Fei-Hu Wang
- College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, China
| | - Rajesh Jeewon
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River and Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Qian Zeng
- College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, China
| | - Xiu-Lan Xu
- Department of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Mauritius, Reduit, Mauritius
| | - Ying-Gao Liu
- College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, China
| | - Chun-Lin Yang
- College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, 611130, China
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Wang ZL, Wang YD, Cheng YQ, Ye ZH, Liu GF, Yu XP. Characterization and transcriptomic analysis of a native fungal pathogen against the rice pest Nilaparvata lugens. Front Microbiol 2023; 14:1162113. [PMID: 37275152 PMCID: PMC10232905 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1162113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/05/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023] Open
Abstract
The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens, is one of the most destructive pests of rice. Given the threats posed by insecticide resistance to its control, eco-friendly strategies based on microbial pathogens emerged as a promising biocontrol alternative. In the present study, we isolated a native fungal pathogen against BPH from infected BPH cadavers and preliminarily identified as a strain of Aspergillus fumigatus based on morphological and molecular methods. Laboratory bioassay revealed that this fungal strain was highly virulent to BPH both at nymphal and adult stages, with the median lethal times (LT50) of 7.5 and 5.8 days under high conidial concentration of 1 × 109 conidia mL-1. A genome-wide view of gene expressions in BPH against fungal attack was analyzed by transcriptomic sequencing and consequently a large number of differentially expressed genes that mainly involved in host immune defense and cell detoxification were found. RNAi-mediated knockdown of an upregulated gene encoding a serine protease (NlSPN) could cause a significant decrease in BPH survival. Combination of dsRNA injection and fungal infection showed an additive effect on BPH mortality, which provided clues to develop new pest management strategies against BPH.
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Xu XL, Wang FH, Liu C, Yang HB, Zeng Z, Wang BX, Liu YG, Yang CL. Morphology and phylogeny of ascomycetes associated with walnut trees ( Juglans regia) in Sichuan province, China. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:1016548. [PMID: 36338097 PMCID: PMC9632355 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1016548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/20/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
In Sichuan province, walnuts, consisting of Juglans regia, Juglans sigillata, and the hybrid J. regia × J. sigillata, are commercially important edible nuts, and J. regia is the most widespread plant. To date, the diversity and distribution of fungi inhabiting on Juglans have not received enough attention, although there have been studies focusing on pathogens from fruit and stem. In order to update the checklist of fungi associated with Sichuan walnuts, a survey on fungi associated with the three Juglans species from 15 representative regions in Sichuan was conducted. In this article, ten fungi distributed in two classes of Ascomycota (Dothideomycetes and Sordariomycetes) were described based on morpho-molecular analyses, and two novel species, Neofusicoccum sichuanense and Sphaerulina juglandina, a known species of Ophiognomonia leptostyla, and seven new hosts or geographical records of Cladosporium tenuissimum, Diatrypella vulgaris, Helminthosporium juglandinum, Helminthosporium velutinum, Loculosulcatispora hongheensis, Periconia byssoides, and Rhytidhysteron subrufulum were included. Morphological descriptions and illustrations of these fungi are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiu-Lan Xu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River and Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China,Forestry Research Institute, Chengdu Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Fei-Hu Wang
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River and Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Chao Liu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River and Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Han-Bo Yang
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River and Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Zhen Zeng
- Forestry Research Institute, Chengdu Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China,*Correspondence: Zhen Zeng,
| | - Bao-Xin Wang
- Forestry Research Institute, Chengdu Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Ying-Gao Liu
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River and Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Chun-Lin Yang
- National Forestry and Grassland Administration Key Laboratory of Forest Resources Conservation and Ecological Safety on the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River and Forestry Ecological Engineering in the Upper Reaches of the Yangtze River Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, College of Forestry, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China,Chun-Lin Yang,
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Is Hyperdermium Congeneric with Ascopolyporus? Phylogenetic Relationships of Ascopolyporus spp. (Cordycipitaceae, Hypocreales) and a New Genus Neohyperdermium on Scale Insects in Thailand. J Fungi (Basel) 2022; 8:jof8050516. [PMID: 35628771 PMCID: PMC9147157 DOI: 10.3390/jof8050516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2022] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
During surveys of insect pathogenic fungi (IPF) in Thailand, fungi associated with scale insects and plants were found to represent five new species of the genus Ascopolyporus in Cordycipitaceae. Their macroscopic features resembled both Hyperdermium and Ascopolyporus. Morphological comparisons with the type and known Ascopolyporus and Hyperdermium species and phylogenetic evidence from a multigene dataset support the appointment of a new species of Ascopolyporus. Moreover, the data also revealed that the type species of Hyperdermium, H. caulium, is nested within Ascopolyporus, suggesting that Hyperdermium is congeneric with Ascopolyporus. The specimens investigated here differ from other Ascopolyporus species by phenotypic characters including size and color of stromata. Phylogenetic analyses of combined LSU, TEF1, RPB1 and RPB2 sequences strongly support the notion that these strains are distinct from known species of Ascopolyporus, and are proposed as Ascopolyporus albus, A. galloides, A. griseoperitheciatus, A. khaoyaiensis and A. purpuratus. Neohyperdermium gen. nov. is introduced for other species originally assigned to Hyperdermium and Cordyceps occurring on scale insects and host plants as epiphytes, accommodating two new combinations of Hyperdermium pulvinatum and Cordyceps piperis.
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