A constitutively expressed antifungal peptide protects Tenebrio molitor during a natural infection by the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana

Sevasti Maistrou; Véronique Paris; Annette Bruun Jensen; Jens Rolff; Nicolai Vitt Meyling; Caroline Zanchi

doi:10.1016/j.dci.2018.04.015

A constitutively expressed antifungal peptide protects Tenebrio molitor during a natural infection by the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana

Sevasti Maistrou, Véronique Paris, Annette Bruun Jensen, Jens Rolff, Nicolai Vitt Meyling, Caroline Zanchi

Section for Organismal Biology

12 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Antimicrobial peptides have been well studied in the context of bacterial infections. Antifungal peptides have received comparatively less attention. Fungal pathogens of insects and their hosts represent a unique opportunity to study host-pathogen interactions due to the million of years of co-evolution they share. In this study, we investigated role of a constitutively expressed thaumatin-like peptide with antifungal activity expressed by the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor, named Tenecin 3, during a natural infection with the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. We monitored the effect of the expression of Tenecin 3 on the survival of infected hosts as well as on the progression of the fungal infection inside the host. Finally, we tested the activity of Tenecin 3 against B. bassiana. These findings could help improving biocontrol strategies and help understanding the evolution of antifungal peptides as a defense mechanism.

Original language	English
Journal	Developmental & Comparative Immunology
Volume	86
Pages (from-to)	26-33
Number of pages	8
ISSN	0145-305X
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dci.2018.04.015
Publication status	Published - Sept 2018

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10.1016/j.dci.2018.04.015

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A constitutively expressed antifungal peptide protects Tenebrio molitor during a natural infection by the entomopathogenic fungus Beauveria bassiana. / Maistrou, Sevasti; Paris, Véronique; Jensen, Annette Bruun et al.
In: Developmental & Comparative Immunology, Vol. 86, 09.2018, p. 26-33.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review

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