Midgut cysteine protease-inhibiting activity in Trichoplusia ni protects the peritrophic membrane from degradation by plant cysteine proteases

The action of plant cysteine proteases on the midgut peritrophic membrane (PM) of a polyphagous herbivorous lepidopteran, Trichoplusia ni, was studied. Proteins in PMs isolated from T. ni larvae were confirmed to be highly resistant to the serine proteinases trypsin and chymotrypsin, but were susceptible to degradation by plant cysteine proteases, which is consistent with the known molecular and biochemical characteristics of the T. ni PM proteins. However, the PM proteins were not degraded by plant cysteine proteases in larvae or in the presence of larval midgut fluid in vitro. With further biochemical analysis, cysteine protease-inhibiting activity was identified in the midgut fluid of T. ni larvae. The cysteine protease-inhibiting activity was heat resistant and active in the tested pH range from 6.0 to 10.0, but could be suppressed by thiol reducing reagents or reduced by treatment with catalase. In addition to T. ni, cysteine protease-inhibiting activity was also identified from two other polyphagous Lepidoptera species, Helicoverpa zea and Heliothis virescens. In conclusion, results from this study uncovered that herbivorous insects may counteract the attack of plant cysteine proteases on the PM by inhibiting the potentially insecticidal cysteine proteases from plants in the digestive tract. However, the biochemical identity of the cysteine protease-inhibiting activity in midgut fluid has yet to be identified.