The endoparasitoid, Cotesia vestalis, regulates host physiology by reprogramming the neuropeptide transcriptional network.

ABSTRACT: Endoparasitoids develop inside another insect by regulating host immunity and development via maternal factors injected into hosts during oviposition. Prior results have provided insights into parasitism-induced immunosuppression, including the neuropeptide accumulation in parasitized insects. Nonetheless, our understanding of neuropeptide influence on host development and behavior is not yet complete. We posed the hypothesis that parasitization alters expression of genes encoding pro-neuropeptides and used larvae of Plutella xylostella and its endoparasitoid, Cotesia vestalis to test our hypothesis. We prepared transcriptomes from the larval P. xylostella brain-CC-CA complex and identified transcripts encoding 19 neuropeptides. All corresponding cDNAs were confirmed by RACE. Our results d

SUBMITTER: Shi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4313088 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature