Abstract
Southern rice black-streaked dwarf virus (SRBSDV), a newly emerged fijivirus causing great loss to rice production in eastern and southeastern Asian countries in recent years, is efficiently transmitted by a rice pest, white-backed planthopper (WBPH, Sogatella furcifera) in a persistent, circulative propagative manner and can be considered as an insect virus. In this study, SRBSDV infection in WBPH was found to increase the vector’s death rate under extreme cold stress but improve its survival rate under extreme heat stress. Digital gene expression profiling based on RNA-Seq revealed different gene regulation patterns in WBPH under viral and/or temperature stress. Under cold stress, the virus infection upregulated 1540 genes and downregulated 131 genes in the insect, most of which were related to membrane properties and biological processes of actin and cytoskeleton; whereas under heat stress, it upregulated 363 genes and downregulated 548 genes, most of which were associated to metabolism and intracellular organelles. Several types of stress-responsive genes involving intestinal mucin, cuticle protein, ubiquitin protease, immune response, RNA interference and heat shock response, were largely upregulated under cold stress, but largely downregulated under heat stress, by SRBSDV infection. Our results suggest two distinct mechanisms of virus-altered vector insect tolerance to temperature stress.
Highlights
Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, College of Agriculture, South China www.nature.com/scientificreports/
With the digital gene expression (DGE) sequencing data obtained from the six samples (Table 1), comparative analyses between different samples were carried out according to the criteria of differential expression (FDR < 0.001 and |log2Ratio| > 1)
SRBSDV infection combined with temperature stress (V5 and V36) induced much greater alterations in gene expression profile than the single stressors (V25, N5, and N36)
Summary
Guangdong Province Key Laboratory of Microbial Signals and Disease Control, College of Agriculture, South China www.nature.com/scientificreports/. Previous studies have revealed that infection of WBPH by the virus may cause a series of influences on the insect’s biology and behavior, including prolonged nymph period, decreased fecundity, shortened adult lifespan, and altered host selection which, along with its high efficiency of SRBSDV transmission, explained the rapid spread of the virus within a short period of time[9,13,14,15]. SRBSDV-induced effects on the insect’s life parameters were temperature-dependent, and the viruliferous vector showed shortened longevity and higher death rates at suboptimal low temperature, and varied survival rates at suboptimal high temperature, as compared to the non-viruliferous insects[13]. In view of the importance of WBPH temperature adaptability to epidemic of SRBSDV, a better understanding of how the virus infection affects the vector’s tolerance to extreme temperature stresses will provide further insight into the ecological effects of this virus and the dynamic of the rice disease. We report the virus-induced alteration on WBPH acclimation under extreme temperature stresses, and explore the potential mechanisms through comparative transcriptome analysis
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
