Comparative Transcriptome Analysis of in Response to the Entomopathogenic Fungi and .

is a medicinal and economically important Lepidopteran insect species. The larvae infected by survive no more than four days, while those infected by can survive for several months before mummification. This provides a valuable comparative system to study interactions between an insect host and different pathogenic fungi. By using the genome, a time-course transcriptome analysis of the whole larvae without guts was performed to explore the larvae response to and . A total of 3106 differentially expressed genes in five clusters were identified. The genes involved in coagulation and multiple metabolisms were both suppressed after or infection, whereas those related to environmental information responses, cell processes, biotic stimulus, and immunity (such as ()) were elevated. The rapid death of after infection might be caused by osmotic imbalance, immunocompromise (such as and ), and nervous system dysfunction (glutamatergic synapse). Up-regulation of the genes related to cuticle structure, nervous system (such as neurotrophin signal pathway and dopaminergic synapse) and immune effectors (such as () and ()) in , may contribute to the co-existence of and . This study provides a global view and potential key genes of the interaction between and two fungal entomopathogens.