Affiliation:
1. College of Tea Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
2. Institute of Fungal Resources, College of Life Sciences, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
3. Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation in Mountainous Region (Ministry of Education), College of Life Sciences/Institute of Agro-bioengineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang, China
Abstract
ABSTRACT
The insect hormones ecdysone (20E) and juvenile hormone III (JH) have been demonstrated to stimulate the secretion of conidia mucilage and pigments in
Hirsutella satumaensis
. However, the underlying mechanisms remain elusive. Here, comparative transcriptome and proteome analyses were performed to identify the fungal genes and proteins of
H. satumaensis
that are up- or downregulated in response to insect hormones. A total of 17,407 unigenes and 1,016 proteins in conidia mucilage were identified. The genes involved in response to the hormones were classified into four functional groups: (
1
) stress response-related genes that are required for the removal of reactive oxygen species (glutathione synthetase, c7144) and genes involved in the response to osmotic stress in the hemocoel, such as those encoding proteins involved in the G, mTOR, and MAPK signaling pathways (
2
); insect hormone metabolic genes, including genes encoding ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase, ecdysteroid-22-kinase, and a key aldehyde dehydrogenase in a juvenile hormone synthesis pathway (
3
); secretory proteins that share homology with those of the host
Bombyx mori
, including fibrohexamerin, sericin 1, metalloprotease 1 protein, and silk gum protein, which were revealed by the omics data; and (
4
) proteins related to amino sugar metabolism and oxidative phosphorylation that were specifically expressed in mucilage in response to 20E and JH, respectively. These findings revealed that
H. satumaensis
can mount effective responses by modulating the expression of genes involved in the detoxification, adaptation, and evasion of insect hormone-mediated immune responses, providing fresh insights into fungal pathogen-host insect interactions.
IMPORTANCE
Insect hormones are highly important for the regulation of insect growth, development, and immune system function. Thus, the expansion of entomopathogenic fungi (EPF) could be affected by these hormones when they inhabit the host hemocoel. However, the molecular basis of EPF in response to insect hormones has yet to be determined. Our results revealed that EPF are impacted by 20E and JH, both of which act as signals, as these hormones lead to changes in metabolic pathways of the fungus, thus demonstrating a direct relationship between the fungus and the hormones. Furthermore, adaptive strategies, such as the use of ecdysone-inactivating enzymes and secreted filamentous proteins in
H. satumaensis
, which strongly resemble those of the host insect, have been discovered, thus illustrating the importance of adaptation to insect hormones for a better understanding of the interaction between insects and EPF.
Funder
MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China
贵州省科技厅 | Science and Technology Program of Guizhou Province
Guizhou University
Publisher
American Society for Microbiology