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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Crop Bioprotection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #355400
Research Project: New Microbial and Plant-Based Agents for Mosquito Control

Location: Crop Bioprotection Research

Title: The Aedes aegypti IMD pathway is a critical component of the mosquito antifungal immune response

Author
item Ramirez, Jose
item Muturi, Ephantus
item BARLETTA-FERREIRA, ANA - National Institutes Of Health (NIH)
item Rooney, Alejandro - Alex

Submitted to: Developmental and Comparative Immunology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/20/2018
Publication Date: 12/22/2018
Citation: Ramirez, J.L., Muturi, E.J., Barletta-Ferreira, A.B., Rooney, A.P. 2018. The Aedes aegypti IMD pathway is a critical component of the mosquito antifungal immune response. Developmental and Comparative Immunology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2018.12.010.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2018.12.010

Interpretive Summary: Entomopathogenic fungi are potential alternative methods of mosquito control. The efficacy at which each fungi kills the mosquito depends on many factors among them how the mosquito fights the infection. This report describes one molecular machinery used by the mosquito to control the entomopathogenic fungi infection and also depicts how the fungi is modulating this response.

Technical Abstract: Successful infection of the insect body by entomopathogenic fungi is the result of complex molecular interactions between the host and the invading pathogenic fungi. The mosquito antifungal response is multifaceted and is regulated in part by the Toll and Jak-STAT pathways. Here, we assessed the role of the IMD pathway in the mosquito Ae. aegypti antifungal immune response when challenged with one of two entomopathogenic fungi, Beauveria bassiana and Isaria javanica. IMD pathway components of the mosquito immune system were elicited in response to infection with both entomopathogenic fungi, primarily in the fat body of mosquitoes. Furthermore, we observed induction of antimicrobial peptides that in turn appear to be tissue and fungal strain-specific. IMD pathway impairment by RNAi gene silencing resulted in higher fungal proliferation and reduction in survival of fungi-infected mosquitoes. Collectively, these data indicates that the IMD pathway plays a more significant role in the antifungal immune response than previously recognized.