Hangzhou Key Laboratory of Animal Adaptation and Evolution, College of Life and Environmental Sciences, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
PLoS One. 2019 Aug 14;14(8):e0211605. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0211605. eCollection 2019.
Immune response and reproductive success are two vital energy-consuming processes in living organisms. However, it is still unclear which process is prioritized when both are required. Therefore, the present study was designed to examine this question arising for one of the world's most destructive agricultural pests, the migratory locust, Locusta migratoria. Transcripts from the ovaries and fat bodies of newly emerged locusts were analyzed, using RNA-seq based transcriptome and qualitative real-time PCR, at 4 h and 6 d after being infected with the gram-positive bacteria Micrococcus luteus. Changes in the main biological pathways involved in reproduction and immunization were analyzed using bioinformatics. After 4 h of infection, 348 and 133 transcripts were up- and down-regulated, respectively, whereas 5699 and 44 transcripts were up- and down-regulated, respectively, at 6 d after infection. Moreover, KEGG analysis indicated that vital pathways related with immunity and reproduction, such as Insulin resistance, FoxO signaling, Lysosome, mTOR signaling, and Toll-like receptor signaling pathways were up-regulated. Among the differentially expressed genes, 22 and 17 were related to immunity and reproduction, respectively. The expression levels of PPO1 and antimicrobial peptide defensin 3 were increased (log2FC = 5.93 and 6.75, respectively), whereas those of VgA and VgB were reduced (log2FC = -17.82 and -18.13, respectively). These results indicated that locust allocate energy and resources to maintain their own survival by increasing immune response when dealing with both immune and reproductive processes. The present study provides the first report of expression levels for genes related with reproduction and immunity in locusts, thereby providing a reference for future studies, as well as theoretical guidance for investigations of locust control.
免疫反应和生殖成功是生物体中两个至关重要的能量消耗过程。然而，当这两个过程都需要时，尚不清楚哪个过程优先。因此，本研究旨在检查这一问题，该问题针对世界上最具破坏性的农业害虫之一——迁徙性蝗虫，Locusta migratoria。使用基于 RNA-seq 的转录组和定性实时 PCR，在感染革兰氏阳性细菌 Micrococcus luteus 后 4 小时和 6 天，分析新出现的蝗虫的卵巢和脂肪体转录本。使用生物信息学分析参与生殖和免疫的主要生物途径的变化。感染后 4 小时，分别有 348 和 133 个转录本上调和下调，而感染后 6 天，分别有 5699 和 44 个转录本上调和下调。此外，KEGG 分析表明，与免疫和生殖相关的重要途径，如胰岛素抵抗、FoxO 信号、溶酶体、mTOR 信号和 Toll 样受体信号途径上调。在差异表达基因中，分别有 22 个和 17 个与免疫和生殖有关。PPO1 和抗菌肽 defensin 3 的表达水平升高（log2FC = 5.93 和 6.75），而 VgA 和 VgB 的表达水平降低（log2FC = -17.82 和 -18.13）。这些结果表明，当蝗虫同时处理免疫和生殖过程时，通过增加免疫反应来分配能量和资源以维持自身生存。本研究首次报道了与蝗虫生殖和免疫相关的基因的表达水平，为未来的研究提供了参考，也为蝗虫防治的理论研究提供了指导。
