Bumblebee venom serine protease increases fungal insecticidal virulence by inducing insect melanization

PLoS One. 2013 Apr 23;8(4):e62555. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0062555. Print 2013.

Abstract

Insect-killing (entomopathogenic) fungi have high potential for controlling agriculturally harmful pests. However, their pathogenicity is slow, and this is one reason for their poor acceptance as a fungal insecticide. The expression of bumblebee, Bombus ignitus, venom serine protease (VSP) by Beauveria bassiana (ERL1170) induced melanization of yellow spotted longicorn beetles (Psacothea hilaris) as an over-reactive immune response, and caused substantially earlier mortality in beet armyworm (Spodopetra exigua) larvae when compared to the wild type. No fungal outgrowth or sporulation was observed on the melanized insects, thus suggesting a self-restriction of the dispersal of the genetically modified fungus in the environment. The research is the first use of a multi-functional bumblebee VSP to significantly increase the speed of fungal pathogenicity, while minimizing the dispersal of the fungal transformant in the environment.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Base Sequence
  • Beauveria / genetics*
  • Beauveria / metabolism*
  • Beauveria / pathogenicity
  • Bee Venoms / enzymology*
  • Coleoptera / microbiology*
  • Gene Expression Regulation, Fungal
  • Gene Order
  • Genetic Vectors / genetics
  • Insecticides
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Pest Control, Biological*
  • Serine Proteases / chemistry
  • Serine Proteases / genetics*
  • Serine Proteases / metabolism*

Substances

  • Bee Venoms
  • Insecticides
  • Serine Proteases

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the grant from the Next-Generation BioGreen 21 Program (number PJ008198), Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea. Joo Hyun Lee, Jong Bin Park, and Zhenli Fu were supported by 2nd stage of the Brain Korea 21 project. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.