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Two atypical gram‐negative bacteria‐binding proteins are involved in the antibacterial response in the pea aphid ( Acyrthosiphon pisum )
Author(s) -
Ji J.,
Zhou L.,
Xu Z.,
Ma L.,
Lu Z.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
insect molecular biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.955
H-Index - 93
eISSN - 1365-2583
pISSN - 0962-1075
DOI - 10.1111/imb.12708
Subject(s) - acyrthosiphon pisum , biology , prophenoloxidase , aphid , pattern recognition receptor , bacteria , microbiology and biotechnology , innate immune system , gene knockdown , immune system , botany , genetics , aphididae , gene , pest analysis , homoptera
The activation of immune pathways is triggered by the recognition of pathogens by pattern recognition receptors (PRRs). Gram‐negative bacteria‐binding proteins (GNBPs)/ β ‐1,3‐glucan recognition proteins (βGRPs) are a conserved family of PRRs in insects. Two GNBPs are predicted in the genome database of pea aphids; however, little is known about their functions in the aphid immune system. Here, we show that pea aphid GNBPs possess domain architectures and sequence features distinct from those of typical GNBPs/βGRPs and that their expression is induced by bacterial infection. Knockdown of their expression by dsRNA resulted in lower phenoloxidase activity, higher bacterial loads and higher mortality in aphids after infection. Our data suggest that these two atypical GNBPs are involved in the antibacterial response in the pea aphid, likely acting as PRRs in the prophenoloxidase pathway.