Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Viruses
Publication Date
Winter 12-3-2022
Keywords
cricket viruses; iridovirus; gene expression; immunity; edible insects; immune tolerance; host-pathogen interactions
Abstract
Despite decades of focus on crickets (family: Gryllidae) as a popular commodity and model organism, we still know very little about their immune responses to microbial pathogens. Previous studies have measured downstream immune effects (e.g., encapsulation response, circulating hemocytes) following an immune challenge in crickets, but almost none have identified and quantified the expression of immune genes during an active pathogenic infection. Furthermore, the prevalence of covert (i.e., asymptomatic) infections within insect populations is becoming increasingly apparent, yet we do not fully understand the mechanisms that maintain low viral loads. In the present study, we measured the expression of several genes across multiple immune pathways in Gryllodes sigillatus crickets with an overt or covert infection of cricket iridovirus (CrIV). Crickets with overt infections had higher relative expression of key pathway component genes across the Toll, Imd, Jak/STAT, and RNAi pathways. These results suggests that crickets can tolerate low viral infections but can mount a robust immune response during an overt CrIV infection. Moreover, this study provides insight into the immune strategy of crickets following viral infection and will aid future studies looking to quantify immune investment and improve resistance to pathogens.
Funding Source
This research was supported in part by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. B.F., S.K.S. and B.M.S. were supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (IOS 16–54028). J.H. was supported by a grant from the Australian Research Council (DP180101708).
Recommended Citation
Duffield, K.R.; Foquet, B.; Stasko, J.A.; Hunt, J.; Sadd, B.M.; Sakaluk, S.K.; Ramirez, J.L. Induction of Multiple Immune Signaling Pathways in Gryllodes sigillatus Crickets during Overt Viral Infections. Viruses 2022, 14, 2712. https://doi.org/10.3390/v14122712
DOI
10.3390/v14122712
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First published in Viruses (2022): https://doi.org/10.3390/v14122712
This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).