Transcriptional Response of Musca domestica Larvae to Bacterial Infection

Abstract

The house fly Musca domestica, a cosmopolitan dipteran insect, is a significant vector for human and animal bacterial pathogens, but little is known about its immune response to these pathogens. To address this issue, we inoculated the larvae with a mixture of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus and profiled the transcriptome 6, 24, and 48 h thereafter. Many genes known to controlling innate immunity in insects were induced following infection, including genes encoding pattern recognition proteins (PGRPs), various components of the Toll and IMD signaling pathways and of the proPO-activating and redox systems, and multiple antimicrobial peptides. Interestingly, we also uncovered a large set of novel immune response genes including two broad-spectrum antimicrobial peptides (muscin and domesticin), which might have evolved to adapt to house-fly's unique ecological environments. Finally, genes mediating oxidative phosphorylation were repressed at 48 h post-infection, suggesting disruption of energy homeostasis and mitochondrial function at the late stages of infection. Collectively, our data reveal dynamic changes in gene expression following bacterial infection in the house fly, paving the way for future in-depth analysis of M. domestica's immune system.

Properties of induced antimicrobial activity in <i>Musca domestica </i>larvae

“…Our current findings are consistent with previous reports on the upregulation of genes involved in innate immunity against invading bacteria in Musca domestica larvae (27). We speculate that the induction of antimicrobial activity was mediated by imd as well as Toll pathway, which were essential innate immune responses in Drosophila (1).…”

Downregulation of the Musca domestica peptidoglycan recognition protein SC (PGRP-SC) leads to overexpression of antimicrobial peptides and tardy pupation

“…In 2014, the genome of M. domestica was decoded by Scott et al (2014), which will increase the understanding of housefly's adaptation to septic environments. We also finished a transcriptome research targeting housefly's response to bacterial challenge (Tang et al, 2014), and found that various components of the Toll and Imd signaling pathways were induced after bacterial infection. We designed this study to track the role of housefly PGRP-SC in Imd pathway and developmental process, expecting to see PGRP-SC's function in the innate immunity system from an evolutionary angle.…”

Antimicrobial peptides from the edible insect Musca domestica and their preservation effect on chilled pork

“…Many studies have indicated that AMPs from the housefly possess pharmacological value (Cao et al, ; Chen et al, ). Using high‐throughput sequencing methods, seven AMP genes ( CECROPIN, ATTACIN, DEFENSIN, DIPTERICIN, MUSCIN, DOMESTICIN, and LYSOZYME ) have been found in M. domestica infected with a mixture of E. coli and S. aureus (Tang et al, ). In the present study, LC‐MS/MS analysis revealed seven AMPs families in Md ‐AMPs.…”