Simulating immunosuppressive mechanism of Microplitis bicoloratus bracovirus coordinately fights Spodoptera frugiperda

Xing-Cheng Li; Yin-Chen Ma; Jin Long; Xiang Yan; Nan-Nan Peng; Cheng-Hui Cai; Wen-Feng Zhong; Yong-Biao Huang; Xin Qiao; Li-Xiang Zhou; Qiu-Chen Cai; Chang-Xu Cheng; Gui-Fang Zhou; Yun-Feng Han; Hong-Yu Liu; Qi Zhang; Hong-Mei Tang; Jiang-Hui Meng; Kai-Jun Luo

doi:10.3389/fimmu.2023.1289477

Simulating immunosuppressive mechanism of Microplitis bicoloratus bracovirus coordinately fights Spodoptera frugiperda

Front Immunol. 2023 Dec 11:14:1289477. doi: 10.3389/fimmu.2023.1289477. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Xing-Cheng Li^#^{1

2

3}, Yin-Chen Ma^#^{1

2

3}, Jin Long^#^{1

2

3}, Xiang Yan^#^{1

2

3}, Nan-Nan Peng^#^{1

2

3}, Cheng-Hui Cai^#^{1

2

3}, Wen-Feng Zhong^#^{1

2

3}, Yong-Biao Huang^{1

2

3}, Xin Qiao^{1

2

3}, Li-Xiang Zhou^{1

2

3}, Qiu-Chen Cai^{1

2

3}, Chang-Xu Cheng^{1

2

3}, Gui-Fang Zhou^{1

2

3}, Yun-Feng Han^{1

2

3}, Hong-Yu Liu^{1

2

3}, Qi Zhang^{1

2

3}, Hong-Mei Tang^{1

2

3}, Jiang-Hui Meng^{1

2

3}, Kai-Jun Luo^{1

2

3}

Affiliations

¹ School of Life Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China.
² Yunnan International Joint Laboratory of Virology & Immunology, Yunnan University, Kunming, China.
³ Key Laboratory of the University in Yunnan Province for International Cooperation in Intercellular Communications and Regulations, Yunnan University, Kunming, China.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Parasitoid wasps control pests via a precise attack leading to the death of the pest. However, parasitoid larvae exhibit self-protection strategies against bracovirus-induced reactive oxygen species impairment. This has a detrimental effect on pest control. Here, we report a strategy for simulating Microplitis bicoloratus bracovirus using Mix-T dsRNA targeting 14 genes associated with transcription, translation, cell-cell communication, and humoral signaling pathways in the host, and from wasp extracellular superoxide dismutases. We implemented either one-time feeding to the younger instar larvae or spraying once on the corn leaves, to effectively control the invading pest Spodoptera frugiperda. This highlights the conserved principle of "biological pest control," as elucidated by the triple interaction of parasitoid-bracovirus-host in a cooperation strategy of bracovirus against its pest host.

Keywords: PGE2 pathway; ROS; S. frugiperda; bracovirus; cell-cell communication; dsRNA; transcription signaling pathway; translation signaling pathway.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
Host-Parasite Interactions
Larva
Polydnaviridae* / genetics
Spodoptera
Wasps*

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This work was supported by the Science and Technology Planning Project in Key Areas of Yunnan Province [grant numbers 20201BB050002 and 202303AP140004], National Natural Science Foundation of China [grant numbers 32160662, 31772225, 31471823, 31260448, and 31060251], NSFC-NRF [grant number 31411140238 to K.], and Yunnan Department of Science and Technology [grant number 2013FA003 to KL]. KL was supported by the Donglu Scholar Program of Yunnan University.