Antiviral function of peptidoglycan recognition protein in Spodoptera exigua(Lepidoptera:Noctuidae)

摘要

Peptidoglycan recognition proteins(PGRPs)are a class of molecules that play a critical role in insect immunity.Understanding the function of PGRPs is important to improve the efficiency of microbial insecticides.In this study,we investigated the role of PGRP-LB(a long type PGRP)in insect immunity against viruses using Spodoptera exigua and Spodoptera exigua multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus(SeMNPV)as an insect-virus model.We cloned and identified a PGRP-LB gene from S.exigua;the gene consisted of 7 exons that encoded a polypeptide of 234 amino acids with a signal peptide and a typical amidase domain.Expression analysis revealed that the abundance of SePGRP-LB transcripts in the fat body was greater than in other tissues.Overexpression of SePGRP-LB resulted in a significant decrease of 49%in the rate of SeMNPV-infected cells.In addition,the multiplication of SeMNPV was significantly decreased:a decrease of 79%in the production of occlusion-derived virion(ODV),and a maximum decrease of 50%in the production of budded virion(BV).In contrast,silencing of SePGRP-LB expression by RNA interference resulted in a significant 1.65-fold increase in the rate of SeMNPV-infected cells,a significant 0.54-fold increase in ODV production,a maximum 1.57-fold increase in BV production,and the larval survival dropped to 21%.Our findings show that SePGRP-LB has an antiviral function against SeMNPV,and therefore this gene may provide a target for lepidopteran pest control using virus insecticides.