Symbiotic bracovirus of a parasite manipulates host lipid metabolism via tachykinin signaling |
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| Authors: | Yanping Wang Xiaotong Wu Zehua Wang Ting Chen Sicong Zhou Jiani Chen Lan Pang Xiqian Ye Min Shi Jianhua Huang Xuexin Chen |
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| Institution: | 1. Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China;2. Ministry of Agriculture Key Lab of Molecular Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insect Pests, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China;3. Key Laboratory of Biology of Crop Pathogens and Insects of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China;4. State Key Lab of Rice Biology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China;Wageningen University, NETHERLANDS |
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| Abstract: | Parasites alter host energy homeostasis for their own development, but the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain largely unknown. Here, we show that Cotesia vestalis, an endoparasitic wasp of Plutella xylostella larvae, stimulates a reduction of host lipid levels. This process requires excess secretion of P. xylostella tachykinin (PxTK) peptides from enteroendocrine cells (EEs) in the midgut of the parasitized host larvae. We found that parasitization upregulates PxTK signaling to suppress lipogenesis in midgut enterocytes (ECs) in a non-cell-autonomous manner, and the reduced host lipid level benefits the development of wasp offspring and their subsequent parasitic ability. We further found that a C. vestalis bracovirus (CvBV) gene, CvBV 9–2, is responsible for PxTK induction, which in turn reduces the systemic lipid level of the host. Taken together, these findings illustrate a novel mechanism for parasite manipulation of host energy homeostasis by a symbiotic bracovirus gene to promote the development and increase the parasitic efficiency of an agriculturally important wasp species. |
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