Peptidoglycan recognition proteins (PGRPs) are important components of insect immune systems, in which they play key roles. We cloned and sequenced two full-length PGRP, named OfPGRP-A and OfPGRP-B, from the Asian corn borer, Ostrinia furnacalis. These two genes comprise open reading frames of 658 and 759 bp, encoding proteins of 192 and 218 amino acids, respectively. qPCR showed that OfPGRP-A and OfPGRP-B are prominently expressed in the midgut of O. furnacalis fourth instar larvae. After inoculation with Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus thuringiensis, the expression of OfPGRP-A was significantly upregulated, whereas the expression of OfPGRP-B was enhanced after inoculation with Escherichia coli. This suggests that OfPGRP-A mainly recognizes Gram-positive bacteria and may participate in the Toll signaling pathways, while OfPGRP-B identifies Gram-negative bacteria and may participate in Imd signaling pathways. Our results provide insights into the roles of PGRPs in O. furnacalis immune function and a foundation for using pathogens for the biological control of O. furnacalis.
http://www.eje.cz can kill Asian corn borer it has an immune response that enable it to resist and kill the invading pathogenic microorganisms. However, the detailed molecular mechanism of the interaction between O. furnacalis and pathogenic bacteria has not yet been clarifi ed and elucidating this mechanism can help to better exploit the lethal effect of pathogenic microorganisms by restraining the natural immune response of O. furnacalis. Therefore, the screening and identifi cation of immune-related genes are important for understanding the natural immune system in O. furnacalis and improving the effi ciency of biocontrol techniques.Insects defend themselves against pathogen infestation by immune responses and the recognition of pathogens is the fi rst step in initiating this response (Kanost et al., 2004; Vogel et al., 2011). Insects recognize pathogens by means of pattern recognition proteins (PRPs) (Hughes, 2012;Wang et al., 2019). The classes of insect PRPs identifi ed to date and the corresponding pathogen pattern molecules include peptidoglycan recognition proteins, β-1,3-glucan recognition protein, C-type lectins, fi brinogen-related proteins, thioester-containing proteins and macrophage scav-
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