Multiple Known Mechanisms and a Possible Role of an Enhanced Immune System in Bt-Resistance in a Field Population of the Bollworm, <i>Helicoverpa zea</i>: Differences in Gene Expression with RNAseq

oleh: Roger D. Lawrie, Robert D. Mitchell III, Jean Marcel Deguenon, Loganathan Ponnusamy, Dominic Reisig, Alejandro Del Pozo-Valdivia, Ryan W. Kurtz, R. Michael Roe

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2020-09-01

Deskripsi

Several different agricultural insect pests have developed field resistance to Bt (<i>Bacillus thuringiensis</i>) proteins (ex. Cry1Ac, Cry1F, etc.) expressed in crops, including corn and cotton. In the bollworm, <i>Helicoverpa zea</i>, resistance levels are increasing; recent reports in 2019 show up to 1000-fold levels of resistance to Cry1Ac, a major insecticidal protein in Bt-crops. A common method to analyze global differences in gene expression is RNA-seq. This technique was used to measure differences in global gene expression between a Bt-susceptible and Bt-resistant strain of the bollworm, where the differences in susceptibility to Cry1Ac insecticidal proteins were 100-fold. We found expected gene expression differences based on our current understanding of the Bt mode of action, including increased expression of proteases (trypsins and serine proteases) and reduced expression of Bt-interacting receptors (aminopeptidases and cadherins) in resistant bollworms. We also found additional expression differences for transcripts that were not previously investigated, i.e., transcripts from three immune pathways-Jak/STAT, Toll, and IMD. Immune pathway receptors (ex. PGRPs) and the IMD pathway demonstrated the highest differences in expression. Our analysis suggested that multiple mechanisms are involved in the development of Bt-resistance, including potentially unrecognized pathways.