Roles of selenoprotein T and transglutaminase in active immunization against entomopathogenic fungi in the termite Reticulitermes chinensis

Abstract

Active immunization can protect individuals from infectious diseases in social insects. It is well established that trace elements are essential to the host immune system, but the related gene functions in insect social immunity are unknown. Here, we found that the levels of three free elements (Se, Ca and Cr) and selenoprotein T (SELT) expression were significantly decreased in the termite Reticulitermes chinensis Snyder during active immunization against the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metchnikoff) Sorokin. Thus, we further explored the role of the SELT gene in the active immunization of termites. After SELT was significantly silenced by RNAi, the nestmates of fungus-contaminated termites exhibited reduced antifungal activity and increased mortality, along with increased expression of the immune genes transglutaminase (TG) and transferrin (Tsf), indicating that the active immunization of termites was disrupted by SELT silencing. Moreover, the TG-knockdown nestmates of fungus-contaminated termites significantly decreased grooming behavior, antifungal activity and survival, despite the upregulation of SELT expression, also suggesting that the active immunization of termites was disrupted by the silencing of TG. These findings demonstrated that both SELT gene and TG gene play important roles in driving active immunization against the entomopathogenic fungus M. anisopliae in R. chinensis.