Parasitic Manipulation of Host Behaviour: Baculovirus SeMNPV EGT Facilitates Tree-Top Disease in Spodoptera exigua Larvae by Extending the Time to Death

Insects

Yue Han²  Stineke van Houte²  Gerben F. Drees²  Monique M. van Oers²  Vera I. D. Ros²  Kenneth Wilson¹  Fleur Ponton¹ 

[1] Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, the Netherlands;;Laboratory of Virology, Wageningen University, Droevendaalsesteeg 1, 6708 PB Wageningen, the Netherlands; E-Mails:

关键词: behavioural manipulation;    baculovirus;    tree-top disease;    SeMNPV;    egt gene;    Spodoptera exigua;   

DOI  :  10.3390/insects6030716

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Many parasites enhance their dispersal and transmission by manipulating host behaviour. One intriguing example concerns baculoviruses that induce hyperactivity and tree-top disease (i.e., climbing to elevated positions prior to death) in their caterpillar hosts. Little is known about the underlying mechanisms of such parasite-induced behavioural changes. Here, we studied the role of the ecdysteroid UDP-glucosyltransferase (egt) gene of Spodoptera exigua multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (SeMNPV) in tree-top disease in S. exigua larvae. Larvae infected with a mutant virus lacking the egt gene exhibited a shorter time to death and died before the induction of tree-top disease. Moreover, deletion of either the open reading frame or the ATG start codon of the egt gene prevented tree-top disease, indicating that the EGT protein is involved in this process. We hypothesize that SeMNPV EGT facilitates tree-top disease in S. exigua larvae by prolonging the larval time to death. Additionally, we discuss the role of egt in baculovirus-induced tree-top disease.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.