Xu Ping-Zhen, Zhang Mei-Rong, Wang Xue-Yang, Wu Yang-Chun
Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Sericultural Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biotechnology, Jiangsu University of Science and Technology, Zhenjiang, China.
Key Laboratory of Silkworm and Mulberry Genetic Improvement, Ministry of Agriculture, Sericultural Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Zhenjiang, China.
Front Physiol. 2021 May 10;12:650972. doi: 10.3389/fphys.2021.650972. eCollection 2021.
The mulberry silkworm () is a model organism, and BmNPV is a typical baculovirus. Together, these organisms form a useful model to investigate host-baculovirus interactions. Prothoracic glands (PGs) are also model organs, used to investigate the regulatory effect of synthetic ecdysone on insect growth and development. In this study, day-4 fifth instar silkworm larvae were infected with BmNPV. Wandering silkworms appeared in the infected groups 12 h earlier than in the control groups, and the ecdysone titer in infected larvae was significantly higher than that of the control larvae. We then used RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) to analyze silkworm PGs 48 h after BmNPV infection. We identified 15 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that were classified as mainly being involved in metabolic processes and pathways. All 15 DEGs were expressed in the PGs, of which , , and were specifically expressed in the PGs. The transcripts of , , , and were significantly increased, and , , , , and were significantly decreased from 24 to 72 h in the PGs after BmNPV infection. The changes in the transcription of these nine genes were generally consistent with the transcriptome data. The upregulation of and indicate that these DEGs may be involved in the maturation process in the latter half of the fifth instar of silkworm larvae. These findings further our understanding of silkworm larval development, the interaction between BmNPV infection and the host developmental response, and host-baculovirus interactions in general.
家蚕（）是一种模式生物，而家蚕核型多角体病毒（BmNPV）是一种典型的杆状病毒。这些生物共同构成了一个用于研究宿主与杆状病毒相互作用的有用模型。前胸腺（PGs）也是用于研究合成蜕皮激素对昆虫生长发育调控作用的模式器官。在本研究中，用BmNPV感染4日龄的五龄家蚕幼虫。感染组出现徘徊蚕的时间比对照组早12小时，且感染幼虫体内的蜕皮激素滴度显著高于对照幼虫。然后，我们使用RNA测序（RNA-seq）分析BmNPV感染48小时后的家蚕前胸腺。我们鉴定出15个差异表达基因（DEGs），它们主要参与代谢过程和途径。所有15个DEGs均在前胸腺中表达，其中，和在前胸腺中特异性表达。在BmNPV感染后的前胸腺中，从24小时到72小时，、、和的转录本显著增加，而、、、和显著减少。这9个基因转录水平的变化与转录组数据总体一致。和的上调表明这些DEGs可能参与家蚕幼虫五龄后半期的成熟过程。这些发现进一步加深了我们对家蚕幼虫发育、BmNPV感染与宿主发育反应之间的相互作用以及一般宿主-杆状病毒相互作用的理解。
