Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Sep 2;10(9):279.
doi: 10.3390/insects10090279.

A Transcriptomics Approach Reveals Putative Interaction of Candidatus Liberibacter Solanacearum with the Endoplasmic Reticulum of Its Psyllid Vector

Saptarshi Ghosh  1 , Ola Jassar  1 , Svetlana Kontsedalov  1 , Galina Lebedev  1 , Chunxia Wang  2 , Donielle Turner  2 , Amit Levy  2   3 , Murad Ghanim  4
Affiliations

A Transcriptomics Approach Reveals Putative Interaction of Candidatus Liberibacter Solanacearum with the Endoplasmic Reticulum of Its Psyllid Vector

Saptarshi Ghosh et al. Insects. .

Abstract

Candidatus Liberibacter solanacerum (CLso), transmitted by Bactericera trigonica in a persistent and propagative mode causes carrot yellows disease, inflicting hefty economic losses. Understanding the process of transmission of CLso by psyllids is fundamental to devise sustainable management strategies. Persistent transmission involves critical steps of adhesion, cell invasion, and replication before passage through the midgut barrier. This study uses a transcriptomic approach for the identification of differentially expressed genes with CLso infection in the midguts, adults, and nymphs of B. trigonica and their putative involvement in CLso transmission. Several genes related to focal adhesion and cellular invasion were upregulated after CLso infection. Interestingly, genes involved with proper functionality of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) were upregulated in CLso infected samples. Notably, genes from the endoplasmic reticulum associated degradation (ERAD) and the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway were overexpressed after CLso infection. Marker genes of the ERAD and UPR pathways were also upregulated in Diaphorina citri when infected with Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus (CLas). Upregulation of the ERAD and UPR pathways indicate induction of ER stress by CLso/CLas in their psyllid vector. The role of ER in bacteria-host interactions is well-documented; however, the ER role following pathogenesis of CLso/CLas is unknown and requires further functional validation.

Keywords: ER stress; ERAD; Liberibacter; UPR; bacterial pathogen; insect vector; psyllid.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in design, execution, interpretation, or writing of the study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Midgut, nymphs, and adults used for sequencing. (A) Dissected midgut from CLso-infected adult psyllid under light microscope, and the same gut that was hybridized with a CLso-specific probe. (B) (red) and stained with DAPI (C). (D–F) show a gut dissected from CLso-uninfected psyllid under light microscope (D), after hybridization with CLso-specific probe (E) and staining with DAPI (blue) (F). G–H show adults (G) and nymphs (H) of B. trigonica.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison of the number of differentially expressed genes between CLso-infected and uninfected midguts (G1 vs. G2, respectively), nymphs (N1 vs. N2) and adults (A1 vs. A2).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) related to CLso pathogenesis in psyllid midguts, nymphs and adults. DEGs related to focal adhesion (A), cell invasion and vesicular transport (B), and endoplasmic reticulum stress (C) are presented. EDEM2 - ER degradation-enhancing alpha-mannosidase-like protein 2; IRE1 - Inositol requiring enzyme 1.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relative quantification of the ERAD genes Derlin-1, Ubiquitin ligase RNF-185, and Sel-1. The expression is normalized to the elongation factor 1 gene in CLso-infected midguts of B. trigonica by qPCR relative to uninfected midguts. Asterisks above columns indicate statistically significant difference when compared to the uninfected control.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Relative quantification of Derlin-1 and IRE1 genes (Log2 expression) in CLas-infected Diaphorina citri by qPCR relative to uninfected insects. Asterisks above columns indicate statistically significant difference when compared to the uninfected control.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Illustration of putative candidate genes and their involvement in different stages of CLso (red particles) invasion in B. trigonica at the midgut/hemocoel interface. N: nucleus; ER: endoplasmic riticulum.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Bové J.M. Huanglongbing: A destructive, newly-emerging, century-old disease of citrus. J. Plant Pathol. 2006;88:7–37.
    1. Soliman T., Mourits M.C.M., Van Der Werf W., Lansink A.G.J.M.O., Werf W. Economic justification for quarantine status—The case study of ‘Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum’ in the European Union. Plant Pathol. 2013;62:1106–1113. doi: 10.1111/ppa.12026. - DOI
    1. Capoor S.P., Rao D.G., Viswanath S.M. Diaphorina citri Kuway, a vector of the greening disease of citrus in India. Indian J. Agric. Sci. 1967;37:572–576.
    1. Hansen A.K., Trumble J.T., Stouthamer R., Paine T.D. A New Huanglongbing Species, “Candidatus Liberibacter psyllaurous,” Found to Infect Tomato and Potato, Is Vectored by the Psyllid Bactericera cockerelli (Sulc) Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 2008;74:5862–5865. doi: 10.1128/AEM.01268-08. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Munyaneza J.E., Sengoda V.G., Stegmark R., Arvidsson A.K., Anderbrant O., Yuvaraj J.K., Rämert B., Nissinen A. First Report of “Candidatus Liberibacter solanacearum” Associated with Psyllid-Affected Carrots in Sweden. Plant Dis. 2012;96:453. doi: 10.1094/PDIS-10-11-0871. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources