Retrotransposon-mediated evolutionary rewiring of a pathogen response orchestrates a resistance phenotype in an insect host.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
; 120(14): e2300439120, 2023 04 04.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-36996102
ABSTRACT
Ongoing host-pathogen interactions can trigger a coevolutionary arms race, while genetic diversity within the host can facilitate its adaptation to pathogens. Here, we used the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) and its pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) as a model for exploring an adaptive evolutionary mechanism. We found that insect host adaptation to the primary Bt virulence factors was tightly associated with a short interspersed nuclear element (SINE - named SE2) insertion into the promoter of the transcriptionally activated MAP4K4 gene. This retrotransposon insertion coopts and potentiates the effect of the transcription factor forkhead box O (FOXO) in inducing a hormone-modulated Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling cascade, leading to an enhancement of a host defense mechanism against the pathogen. This work demonstrates that reconstructing a cis-trans interaction can escalate a host response mechanism into a more stringent resistance phenotype to resist pathogen infection, providing a new insight into the coevolutionary mechanism of host organisms and their microbial pathogens.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Bacillus thuringiensis
/
Moths
Type of study:
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
China