Transcriptome of the Lymantria dispar (Gypsy Moth) Larval Midgut in Response to Infection by Bacillus thuringiensis

• Published in: PloS one 2013-05, Vol.8 (5), p.e61190-e61190
• Main Authors: Sparks, Michael E, Blackburn, Michael B, Kuhar, Daniel, Gundersen-Rindal, Dawn E, Terenius, Olle
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acids; Agriculture; alpha-amylase; animal ovaries; Animals; Bacillus thuringiensis; Bacillus thuringiensis - physiology; Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. kurstaki; Bacteria; Bacterial diseases; bacterial infections; Binding; binding proteins; Biological control; Biology; biopesticides; Butterflies & moths; Carboxypeptidase C; Cytochrome; Gastrointestinal Tract - immunology; Gastrointestinal Tract - metabolism; Gastrointestinal Tract - microbiology; Gene expression; gene expression regulation; Gene Expression Regulation - immunology; Gene Ontology; Gene sequencing; Genes; Genetic aspects; Genetic transcription; Genomes; Gypsy moth; Health aspects; Homology; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Immune response; Immune system; Infections; Innovations; insect pests; Insect Proteins - genetics; Insect Proteins - metabolism; Insects; Insulin; Laboratories; Larva - immunology; Larva - metabolism; Larva - microbiology; larvae; lectins; Lepidoptera; Lipase; Lymantria dispar; Midgut; Moths - immunology; Moths - metabolism; Moths - microbiology; Nucleic acids; Ontology; Pest Control, Biological; Pesticides; Pests; Pheromones; protein binding; Proteins; quantitative polymerase chain reaction; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Retinoic acid; reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; Sequence Analysis, RNA; Studies; transcription factors; Transcriptome; transcriptomics; Veterinary Science; Virulence (Microbiology); α-Amylase
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0061190

Transcriptomic profiles of the serious lepidopteran insect pest Lymantria dispar (gypsy moth) were characterized in the larval midgut in response to infection by Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki , a biopesticide commonly used for its control. RNA-Seq approaches were used to define a set of 49,613 assembled transcript sequences, of which 838, 1,248 and 3,305 were respectively partitioned into high-, mid- and low-quality tiers on the basis of homology information. Digital gene expression profiles suggested genes differentially expressed at 24 hours post infection, and qRT-PCR analyses were performed for verification. The differentially expressed genes primarily associated with digestive function, including α-amylase, lipase and carboxypeptidase; immune response, including C-type lectin 4; developmental genes such as arylphorin; as well as a variety of binding proteins: cellular retinoic acid binding protein (lipid-binding), insulin-related peptide binding protein (protein-binding) and ovary C/EBPg transcription factor (nucleic acid-binding). This is the first study conducted to specifically investigate gypsy moth response to a bacterial infection challenge using large-scale sequencing technologies, and the results highlight important genes that could be involved in biopesticide resistance development or could serve as targets for biologically-based control mechanisms of this insect pest.