A chromosome-scale genome assembly of the nipa palm hispid beetle Octodonta nipae.

Nipa palm hispid beetle (Octodonta nipae) is an insect species that is native to Malaysia but has spread to southern China and beyond, seriously threatening palm production. A lack of high-quality genome resources has hindered understanding of the insect's invasive characteristics and ecological adaptations. Here, we combined Illumina short read, PacBio long-read, and high-throughput chromosome conformation capture (Hi-C) sequencing technologies to generate a high-quality, chromosome-scale genome assembly of nipa palm hispid beetle.

Histone Acetylation Enhancing Host Melanization in Response to Parasitism by an Endoparasitoid Wasp.

Endoparasitoids are insects that develop within other insects, employing unique strategies to enhance their offspring's survival. They inject polydnavirus and/or venom into their hosts along with eggs, effectively suppressing the host's immune system. Polydnavirus from Braconidae and Ichneumonidae wasps can integrate into the host's genome to express viral genes using the host's transcription systems.

Role of prophenoloxidase 1 from the beetle Octodonta nipae in melanized encapsulation of a wasp egg.

Exploring the function of the host immune system can help to understand the host-parasitoid interaction. Prophenoloxidase (PPO) is crucial in defensive melanization during the encapsulation of wasp eggs. However, the existence of multiple PPO sequences increases the difficulty of exploring the specific functions of individual PPOs.

The Cellular Immunological Responses and Developmental Differences between Two Hosts Parasitized by .

This study aims to investigate the developmental interactions of Bouček on Gestro and Maulik, as well as the cellular immune responses of and larvae in response to parasitism by , with the hope of determining the reason for the difference in larval breeding of in and . The effects of parasitism by on the larval development, hemocyte count, and proportion of the hemocyte composition of the two hosts were carried out through selective assay and non-selective assay using statistical analysis and anatomical imaging. There was no significant difference in parasitic selection for on the larvae of these two beetles; however, more eggs were laid to larvae than to larvae after parasitism by .

The first complete genome sequence of an iflavirus from the endoparasitoid wasp Tetrastichus brontispae.

The complete genome sequence of a novel iflavirus isolated from the gregarious and koinobiont endoparasitoid Tetrastichus brontispae, tentatively named "Tetrastichus brontispae RNA virus 3" (TbRV-3), was determined by total RNA and Sanger sequencing. The complete genome is 9998 nucleotides in length, 8934 nt of which encodes a putative polyprotein of 2978 amino acids. TbRV-3 was found to have a similar genome organization and to contain conserved domains and motifs found in other iflaviruses, with some variations.

Immune function differences between two color morphs of the red palm weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) at different life stages.

Several studies demonstrated that in insects cuticle melanism is interrelated with pathogen resistance, as melanin-based coloration and innate immunity possess similar physiological pathways. For some insects, higher pathogen resistance was observed in darker individuals than in individuals with lighter cuticular coloration. Here, we investigated the difference in immune response between two color morphs (black and red) and between the life stages (pupa and adult) of the red palm weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

Variation in Parasitoid Virulence of during the Targeting of Two Host Beetles.

In host-parasitoid interactions, antagonistic relationship drives parasitoids to vary in virulence in facing different hosts, which makes these systems excellent models for stress-induced evolutionary studies. Venom compositions varied between two strains of , Tb-Bl and Tb-On. Tb-Bl targets pupae as hosts, and Tb-On is a sub-population of Tb-Bl, which has been experimentally adapted to a new host, .

Cloning and Immunosuppressive Properties of an Acyl-Activating Enzyme from the Venom Apparatus of (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae).

Venom injected into the host plays vital roles in facilitating successful parasitization and development for parasitoid wasps, especially those devoid of polydnavirus, and the abundant venom proteins appear to be most likely involved in parasitization success. Previously, we found the four most abundant venom proteins, including 4-coumarate:CoA ligase-like 4 (4CL4-like), in the (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) venom apparatus. In this study, we cloned, expressed 4CL4-like (Tb4CL4-like) in , and investigated its immunosuppressive properties.

Functional conservation and division of two single-carbohydrate-recognition domain C-type lectins from the nipa palm hispid beetle Octodonta nipae (Maulik).

As an invasive pest, the complete and effective innate immune system is crucial for the nipa palm hispid beetle Octodonta nipae (Maulik) to adjust to new environments. C-type lectins (CTLs) are large families of carbohydrate-binding proteins that possess one or more characteristic carbohydrate-recognition domains (CRD) and function as pattern-recognition receptors, which play important roles in mediating humoral and cellular immunity. In the present study, for the first time, we report two CTL-Ss (single-CRD CTLs) from O.

The First Complete Genome Sequence of a Novel RNA Virus-1 (TbRV-1).

The complete sequence of a novel RNA virus isolated from (TbRV-1) was determined to be 12,239 nucleotides in length with five non-overlapping, linearly arranged coding sequences (CDS), potentially encoding nucleoproteins, hypothetical proteins, matrix proteins, glycoproteins, and RNA-dependent RNA polymerases. Sequence analysis indicated that the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase of TbRV-1 shares a 65% nucleotide and 67% amino acid sequence identity with Hubei dimarhabdovirus 2, suggesting that TbRV-1 is a member of the dimarhabdovirus supergroup. This corresponded to the result of the phylogenetic analysis.

Effects of ovarian fluid, venom and egg surface characteristics of Tetrastichus brontispae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) on the immune response of Octodonta nipae (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae).

Although the importance of parasitoids as biocontrol agents has long been recognized, systematic studies of the physiological mechanisms are scarce, especially in those parasitoids that are able to successfully invade their hosts by activating host immune responses. This study explored this phenomenon by investigating the effects of ovarian fluid, venom and egg surface characteristics of Tetrastichus brontispae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) on host immunity. The results showed that the injection of venom alone induced higher phenoloxidase activity, while a mixture of ovarian plus venom fluids provoked higher granulocyte and plasmatocyte spreading ratios, highlighting the role that egg surface characteristics may play in successful parasitism.

Identification of three prophenoloxidase-activating factors (PPAFs) from an invasive beetle Octodonta nipae Maulik (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and their roles in the prophenoloxidase activation.

A typical characteristic of the insect innate immune system is the activation of the serine protease cascade in the hemolymph. As being the terminal component of the extracellular serine protease cascade in the prophenoloxidase (proPO) activating system, proPO-activating factors (PPAFs) activated by the upstream cascade may generate active phenoloxidase, which then induces downstream melanization. In the present study, we reported three PPAFs from the nipa palm hispid beetle Octodonta nipae (Maulik) (designated as OnPPAF1, OnPPAF2, OnPPAF3).

Molecular cloning and expression of the vitellogenin gene and its correlation with ovarian development in an invasive pest Octodonta nipae on two host plants.

There is an ongoing relationship between host plants and herbivores. The nutrient substances and secondary compounds found in the host plant can not only impact the growth and development process of herbivores, but, more importantly, may also affect their survival and reproductive fitness. Vitellogenesis is the core process of reproductive regulation and is generally considered as a reliable indicator for evaluating the degree of ovarian development in females.

Altered immune function of Octodonta nipae (Maulik) to its pupal endoparasitoid, Tetrastichus brontispae Ferrière.

Most studies on the contribution of the altered immune response by endoparasitoid have been restricted to the interactions between Ichneumonoidea and their hosts, while effects of parasitism by Chalcidoidea on the hosts have rarely been characterized except some wasps such as Pteromalidae. Endoparasitoid Tetrastichus brontispae Ferrière, belonging to Eulophidae (Hymenoptera), has a great potential to control some Coleopteran beetles such as Octodonta nipae, one invasive species in southern China. However, the physiological mechanism underlying the escape from the melanotic encapsulation in O.

Transcriptome immune analysis of the invasive beetle Octodonta nipae (Maulik) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) parasitized by Tetrastichus brontispae Ferrière (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae).

The beetle Octodonta nipae (Maulik) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) is a serious invasive insect pest of palm plants in southern China, and the endoparasitoid Tetrastichus brontispae Ferrière (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) is a natural enemy of this pest that exhibits great ability in the biocontrol of O. nipae. For successful parasitism, endoparasitoids often introduce or secrete various virulence factors to suppress host immunity.

Different toxicity of the novel Bacillus thuringiensis (Bacillales: Bacillaceae) strain LLP29 against Aedes albopictus and Culex quinquefasciatus (Diptera: Culicidae).

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) (Berliner) strain LLP29 produces a crystal protein Cyt1Aa6 toxic to mosquito vectors of human diseases. However, the susceptibility of Culex quinquefasciatus (Say) in the current study was 8.25 times higher than that of Aedes albopictus (Skuse) with this single protein Cyt1Aa6 purified from LLP29.

Cloning, ligand-binding, and temporal expression of ecdysteroid receptors in the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella.

Background: The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is a devastating pest of cruciferous crops worldwide, and has developed resistance to a wide range of insecticides, including diacylhydrazine-based ecdysone agonists, a highly selective group of molt-accelerating biopesticides targeting the ecdysone receptors.

Result: In this study, we cloned and characterized the ecdysone receptors from P.

Cloning, characterisation and expression profiling of the cDNA encoding the ryanodine receptor in diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae).

Background: The rynodine receptors (RyRs) are the main targets of diamide insecticides such as chlorantraniliprole. To provide the basis for a good understanding of the molecular mechanisms of diamide insecticide resistance, an RyR gene from Plutella xylostella was cloned and characterised in the present paper.

Results: A full-length cDNA sequence of RyR was cloned from P.

Mosquito cell line C6/36 shows resistance to Cyt1Aa6.

This study aimed to investigate the resistance mechanism of C6/36 cells to Cyt1Aa6 protein under selection pressure. Receptor binding properties of Cyt1Aa6 toward sensitive and resistant C6/36 cells were investigated. More sensitive cells were detected with goat-anti-rabbit-FITC-labeled antibody, and the quantity of in vitro activated Cyt1Aa6 toxin bound to resistant cells was greatly reduced.