[Expression of subtilisin-like protease gene from Hirsutella sinensis before and after infecting Hepialus gonggaensis].

To address the role of Pr1 gene in the process of Hirsutella sinensis infecting Hepialus gonggaensis, differential expression of subtilisin-like protease gene was detected. In the present study, Pr1 gene analogues from H. sinensis were obtained by PCR strategy using specific primers designed from conserved regions of Pr1 gene reported in the GenBank. Then we detected the changes in the expression of Pr1 gene before and after infecting H. gonggaensis using real-time quantitative PCR. We obtained the partial sequence of Pr1 gene with the length of 535 bp (GenBank accession: KC009680). Real-time PCR results showed that the expression level of Pr1 gene was significantly different among 8 samples (P < 0.01). Pr1 gene showed the obvious higher expression level (2-3 folds) after infecting the H. gonggaensis, suggesting that the Pr1 gene may play an important role in the process of H. sinensis infecting H. gonggaensis. The present study paves a way for further identification on infectivity assessment of H. sinensis.