Abstract
Fungi are the most common pathogens of insects and thus important regulators of their populations. Lipid-binding aegerolysin proteins, which are commonly found in the fungal kingdom, may be involved in several biologically relevant processes including attack and defense against other organisms. Aegerolysins act alone or together with membrane-attack-complex/perforin (MACPF)-like proteins to form transmembrane pores that lead to cell lysis. We performed an in-depth bioinformatics analysis of aegerolysins in entomopathogenic fungi and selected a candidate aegerolysin, beauveriolysin A (BlyA) from Beauveria bassiana. BlyA was expressed as a recombinant protein in Escherichia coli, and purified to further determine its functional and structural properties, including lipid-binding ability. Aegerolysins were found to be encoded in genomes of entomopathogenic fungi, such as Beauveria, Cordyceps, Metarhizium and Ophiocordyceps. Detailed bioinformatics analysis revealed that they are linked to MACPF-like genes in most genomes. We also show that BlyA interacts with an insect-specific membrane lipid. These results were placed in the context of other fungal and bacterial aegerolysins and their partner proteins. We believe that aegerolysins play a role in promoting the entomopathogenic and antagonistic activity of B. bassiana, which is an active ingredient of bioinsecticides.
Highlights
IntroductionThey are the most common pathogens of various arthropods and important regulators of their populations
We identified only one gene locus for the aegerolysin in the whole genome sequence P. ostreatus
Given its similarity to other fungal pore-forming two-component proteins, we investigated whether the genome of B. bassiana encodes its pore-forming partner protein, termed “component B”
Summary
They are the most common pathogens of various arthropods and important regulators of their populations. An entomopathogenic fungus acts as a parasite on insects, killing or severely disabling them. After attaching to the insect’s cuticle, conidiospores germinate and form penetrating hyphae that invade the insect’s body, overcome the insect’s innate immune response, and proliferate within it. The victim of the entomopathogenic fungus dies due to vegetative overgrowth and possible release of toxins into the host hemocoel [1]. The fungus feeds on its host, resulting in host death due to dehydration and/or nutrient deficiency [2]
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