Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China; College of Forestry and Grassland, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China.
Co-Innovation Center for Sustainable Forestry in Southern China, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China; College of Forestry and Grassland, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing 210037, People's Republic of China.
Pestic Biochem Physiol. 2024 Sep;204:106004. doi: 10.1016/j.pestbp.2024.106004. Epub 2024 Jun 30.
Termites are consistently confronted with a complex microbial environment. In addition to the role of their innate immune system in resisting pathogen infection, social immune behavior also plays a significant role in helping termites withstand the stress caused by pathogenic microorganisms. The allogrooming behavior among different individuals is commonly observed in termites, and it plays a crucial role in the social immune interaction network. In the case of Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki), Orco is specifically involved in detecting pheromones and volatile chemicals released by termites to communicate with each other. Nonetheless, the function of Orco in the social immunity remains unreported in O. formosanus. Consequently, in this study, we recorded the allogrooming behavior of O. formosanus workers under SM1 stress. The results indicated a significant increase in allogrooming behavior due to SM1 infection. The allogrooming behavior of workers under SM1 stress was significantly increased after the addition of soldiers. Compared with pronotum group treated by SM1, SM1 treatment of workers' heads significantly reduced the allogrooming behavior among workers. In addition, we found that SM1 could greatly increase the expression of OforOrco. Furthermore, interfering with OforOrco could markedly reduce the allogrooming behavior among workers under SM1 stress, and increase the mortality of worker under SM1 stress. This study demonstrated the significant role of OforOrco in the social immunity of O. formosanus, which offers a theoretical foundation for the advancement of research on termite RNA biopesticides, and the integration of RNA interference (RNAi) with pathogens. This study is valuable for elucidating the social immune behavior and interaction network of termites.
白蚁一直面临着复杂的微生物环境。除了先天免疫系统在抵抗病原体感染方面的作用外，社会免疫行为在帮助白蚁抵御致病微生物引起的压力方面也起着重要作用。不同个体之间的相互清洁行为在白蚁中很常见，它在社会免疫相互作用网络中起着关键作用。在台湾乳白蚁（Shiraki）中，Orco 专门参与检测白蚁相互交流时释放的信息素和挥发性化学物质。然而，Orco 在社会免疫中的功能在台湾乳白蚁中尚未报道。因此，在这项研究中，我们记录了 SM1 应激下台湾乳白蚁工蚁的相互清洁行为。结果表明，由于 SM1 感染，相互清洁行为显著增加。SM1 应激下添加兵蚁后，工蚁的相互清洁行为显著增加。与用 SM1 处理的前胸组相比，SM1 处理工蚁头部显著降低了工蚁之间的相互清洁行为。此外，我们发现 SM1 可以极大地增加 OforOrco 的表达。此外，干扰 OforOrco 可以显著减少 SM1 应激下工蚁之间的相互清洁行为，并增加 SM1 应激下工蚁的死亡率。本研究表明 OforOrco 在台湾乳白蚁的社会免疫中起着重要作用，为研究白蚁 RNA 生物农药以及将 RNA 干扰（RNAi）与病原体相结合提供了理论基础。本研究对阐明白蚁的社会免疫行为和相互作用网络具有重要意义。
