Effect of juvenile hormone on resistance against entomopathogenic fungus metharizium robertsii differs between sexes


Por: Rantala M.J., Dubovskiy I.M., Pölkki M., Krama T., Contreras-Garduño J., Krams I.A.

Publicada: 1 ene 2020
Resumen:
Juvenile hormone has been suggested to be a potential mediator in the trade-off between mating and insects’ immunity. Studies on various insect taxons have found that juvenile hormone interferes with humoral and cellular immunity. Although this was shown experimentally, studies using highly virulent parasites or pathogens are lacking so far. In this study, we tested if juvenile hormone administration affected resistance against entomopathogenic fungi, Metharizium robertsii, in the mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor. In previous studies with T. molitor, juvenile hormone has been found to reduce a major humoral immune effector-system (phenoloxidase) in both sexes and decrease the encapsulation response in males. Here, we found that juvenile hormone administration prolonged survival time after infection with M. robertsii in males but reduced survival time in females. This study indicates that the effects of juvenile hormone on insect immunity might be more complicated than previously considered. We also suggest that there might be a trade-off between specific and non-specific immunity since, in males, juvenile hormone enhances specific immunity but corrupts non-specific immunity. Our study highlights the importance of using real parasites and pathogens in immuno-ecological studies. © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Filiaciones:
Rantala M.J.:
 Department of Biology, Section of Ecology, University of Turku, Turku, FI-20014, Finland

Dubovskiy I.M.:
 Laboratory of Biological Plant Protection and Biotechnology, Department Plant Protection, Novosibirsk State Agrarian University, Novosibirsk, 630039, Russian Federation

 Siberian Federal Scientific Centre of Agro-BioTechnologies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Krasnoobsk, 630501, Russian Federation

Pölkki M.:
 Department of Biology, Section of Ecology, University of Turku, Turku, FI-20014, Finland

Krama T.:
 Department of Biotechnology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, 5401, Latvia

 Department of Plant Health, Estonian University of Life Sciences, Tartu, 51006, Estonia

Contreras-Garduño J.:
 Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva, Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, 04510, Mexico

Krams I.A.:
 Department of Biotechnology, Daugavpils University, Daugavpils, 5401, Latvia

 Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, 51014, Estonia

 Department of Zoology and Animal Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Latvia, Riga, 1004, Latvia
ISSN: 2309608X
Editorial
MDPI AG, ST ALBAN-ANLAGE 66, CH-4052 BASEL, SWITZERLAND, Suiza
Tipo de documento: Article
Volumen: 6 Número: 4
Páginas: 1-8
WOS Id: 000601864200001
ID de PubMed: 33227937