Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of Bombyx mori (Lepidoptera) Larval Midgut Response to BmNPV in Susceptible and Near-Isogenic Resistant Strains

PLoS One. 2016 May 11;11(5):e0155341. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0155341. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) is one of the primary pathogens causing severe economic losses in sericulture. However, the molecular mechanism of silkworm resistance to BmNPV remains largely unknown. Here, the recurrent parent P50 (susceptible strain) and the near-isogenic line BC9 (resistance strain) were used in a comparative transcriptome study examining the response to infection with BmNPV. A total of 14,300 unigenes were obtained from two different resistant strains; of these, 869 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified after comparing the four transcriptomes. Many DEGs associated with protein metabolism, cytoskeleton, and apoptosis may be involved in the host response to BmNPV infection. Moreover, some immunity related genes were also altered following BmNPV infection. Specifically, after removing genetic background and individual immune stress response genes, 22 genes were found to be potentially involved in repressing BmNPV infection. These genes were related to transport, virus replication, intracellular innate immune, and apoptosis. Our study provided an overview of the molecular mechanism of silkworm resistance to BmNPV infection and laid a foundation for controlling BmNPV in the future.

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / genetics
  • Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / immunology
  • Bombyx / genetics*
  • Bombyx / immunology
  • Bombyx / virology
  • Carrier Proteins / genetics
  • Carrier Proteins / immunology
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / genetics
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins / immunology
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Gene Expression Regulation
  • Gene Ontology
  • Host-Pathogen Interactions
  • Immunity, Innate / genetics*
  • Insect Proteins / genetics*
  • Insect Proteins / immunology
  • Larva / genetics*
  • Larva / immunology
  • Larva / virology
  • Molecular Sequence Annotation
  • Nucleopolyhedroviruses / pathogenicity
  • Nucleopolyhedroviruses / physiology*
  • Transcriptome / immunology*
  • Virus Replication / immunology

Substances

  • Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins
  • Carrier Proteins
  • Cytoskeletal Proteins
  • Insect Proteins

Grants and funding

This work was supported by the Natural Science Foundation of China (31472148). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.