Guo, Zhaojiang, Kang, Shi, Sun, Dan, Gong, Lijun, Zhou, Junlei, Qin, Jianying, Guo, Le, Zhu, Liuhong, Bai, Yang, Ye, Fan, Wu, Qingjun, Wang, Shaoli, Crickmore, Neil, Zhou, Xuguo and Zhang, Youjun (2020) MAPK-dependent hormonal signaling plasticity contributes to overcoming Bacillus thuringiensis toxin action in an insect host. Nature Communications, 11. a3003 1-14. ISSN 2041-1723

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Abstract

The arms race between entomopathogenic bacteria and their insect hosts is an excellent model for decoding the intricate coevolutionary processes of host-pathogen interaction. Here, we demonstrate that the MAPK signaling pathway is a general switch to trans-regulate differential expression of aminopeptidase N and other midgut genes in an insect host, diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), thereby countering the virulence effect of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) toxins. Moreover, the MAPK cascade is activated and fine-tuned by the crosstalk between two major insect hormones, 20-hydroxyecdysone (20E) and juvenile hormone (JH) to elicit an important physiological response (i.e. Bt resistance) without incurring the significant fitness costs often associated with pathogen resistance. Hormones are well known to orchestrate physiological trade-offs in a wide variety of organisms, and our work decodes a hitherto undescribed function of these classic hormones and suggests that hormonal signaling plasticity is a general cross-kingdom strategy to fend off pathogens.

Item Type:	Article
Schools and Departments:	School of Life Sciences > Biochemistry
SWORD Depositor:	Mx Elements Account
Depositing User:	Mx Elements Account
Date Deposited:	24 Jun 2020 06:57
Last Modified:	24 Jun 2020 07:00
URI:	http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/id/eprint/92093

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