Publication details
Entomopathogenic nematode Heterorhabditis bacteriophora: Activation of excreted/secreted products release and their identification
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| Year of publication | 2024 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | The agricultural pests are represented by a wide variety of organisms from multiple taxonomic groups, including bacteria, viruses, fungi, oomycetes, arthropods (primarily insects and mites), nematodes, molluscs, and certain species of vertebrates covering over ca 70 000 species. Among these, insect pests, including invasive species, are the most critical group causing the global declines in agricultural production. Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs) are obligate insect pathogens used in biological control. Representatives of two genera, Heterorhabditis and Steinernema, together with their gut mutualistic bacteria of genus Photorhabdus and Xenorhabdus, respectively, represent together highly entomopathogenic nematobacterial complex lethal for many pest species. During the invasion and infection, EPNs release excretory/secretory products (ESPs) containing the molecules which play a crucial role in these processes. In our study, we focused on determining the protein spectrum of Heterorhabditis bacteriophora ESPs released in response to different activation materials prepared from the host organism, Galleria mellonella larvae. The collected and adjusted mixtures of ESPs were subjected to mass spectrometry analysis (LC- MS/MS). For protein identification, we conducted searches against a protein database derived from the H. bacteriophora reference genome. Among the relevant hits were present the molecules with potential role in nematode-insect interaction; such as metallopeptidase, Till- domain containing protein, Family I8 unassigned peptidase inhibitors, A2M_N_2 domain containing protein. Our findings suggest that the method of nematode activation likely influences the virulence of EPNs, and understanding these mechanisms could lead to improvements of biocontrol strategy. |
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