Increased Phenoloxidase Activity Constitutes the Main Defense Strategy of Trichoplusia ni Larvae against Fungal Entomopathogenic Infections.

ABSTRACT: The cabbage looper Trichoplusia ni is an important agricultural pest worldwide and is frequently used as a model organism for assessing entomopathogenic fungi virulence, though few studies have measured the host response repertoire to fungal biocontrol agents. Here, we quantified the immune response of T. ni larvae following exposure to two entomopathogenic fungal species: Beauveria bassiana and Cordyceps javanica. Results from our study demonstrate that T. ni larvae exposed to fungal entomopathogens had higher total phenoloxidase activity compared to controls, indicating that the melanization cascade is one of the main immune components driving defense against fungal infection and contrasting observations from other insect-fungi interaction studies. We a

SUBMITTER: Duffield KR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10455440 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature