Collaborative Innovation Center of Zhejiang Green Pesticide, National Joint Local Engineering Laboratory for High-Efficient Preparation of Biopesticide, School of Forestry and Biotechnology, Zhejiang A&F University, 311300, Hangzhou, People's Republic of China.
BMC Genomics. 2021 May 27;22(1):394. doi: 10.1186/s12864-021-07714-y.
The pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus is a destructive pest of Pinus trees worldwide and lacks effective control measures. Screening for nematotoxic proteins has been undertaken to develop new strategies for nematode control.
The results of the present study provided initial insights into the responses of B. xylophilus exposed to a nematotoxic cytolytic-like protein (CytCo) based on transcriptome profiling. A large set of differentially expressed genes (DEGs = 1265) was found to be related to nematode development, reproduction, metabolism, motion, and immune system. In response to the toxic protein, B. xylophilus upregulated DEGs encoding cuticle collagens, transporters, and cytochrome P450. In addition, many DEGs related to cell death, lipid metabolism, major sperm proteins, proteinases/peptidases, phosphatases, kinases, virulence factors, and transthyretin-like proteins were downregulated. Gene Ontology enrichment analysis showed that the CytCo treatment substantially affected DEGs involved in muscle contraction, lipid localization, and the mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade. The pathway richness of the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes showed that the DEGs were concentrated in lysosomes and involved in fatty acid degradation. Weighted co-expression network analysis indicated that the hub genes affected by CytCo were associated with the nematode cuticular collagen.
These results showed that CytCo toxin interferes with gene expression to exert multiple nematotoxic effects, thereby providing insights into its potential use in pine wood nematode control.
松材线虫是一种世界性的松树毁灭性害虫，目前缺乏有效的防治措施。筛选线虫毒素蛋白已被用于开发新的线虫防治策略。
本研究基于转录组分析，初步探讨了松材线虫暴露于线虫毒素细胞溶解样蛋白（CytCo）后的反应。结果发现，大量差异表达基因（DEGs=1265）与线虫发育、繁殖、代谢、运动和免疫系统有关。在毒性蛋白的作用下，松材线虫上调了编码角质层胶原、转运蛋白和细胞色素 P450 的 DEGs。此外，许多与细胞死亡、脂质代谢、主要精子蛋白、蛋白酶/肽酶、磷酸酶、激酶、毒力因子和转甲状腺素蛋白样蛋白相关的 DEGs 下调。基因本体富集分析表明，CytCo 处理显著影响了与肌肉收缩、脂质定位和丝裂原激活蛋白激酶级联相关的 DEGs。京都基因与基因组百科全书的途径丰富度表明，DEGs 集中在溶酶体中，并参与脂肪酸降解。加权共表达网络分析表明，受 CytCo 影响的枢纽基因与线虫角质层胶原有关。
这些结果表明，CytCo 毒素通过干扰基因表达来发挥多种线虫毒性作用，从而为其在松材线虫防治中的潜在应用提供了依据。
