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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Peoria, Illinois » National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research » Crop Bioprotection Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #394496
Research Project: Discovery and Production of Beneficial Microbes for Control of Agricultural Pests through Integration into Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems

Location: Crop Bioprotection Research

Title: Crickets (Gryllodes sigillatus) upregulate multiple immune pathways in response to an active viral infection

Author
item Duffield, Kristin
item FOQUET, BERT - Illinois State University
item HUNT, JOHN - Western Sydney University
item SADD, BEN - Illinois State University
item SAKALUK, SCOTT - Illinois State University
item Ramirez, Jose

Submitted to: Society for Invertebrate Pathology Annual Meeting
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/15/2022
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Despite decades of focus on crickets (family: Gryllidae) as a model organism and a popular commodity in the food and pet feed industry, we know very little about their immune response to microbial pathogens. Many previous studies have measured downstream immune effects (e.g., encapsulation response, circulating hemocytes) following an immune challenge in crickets, but almost none have identified and quantified the induction of immune signaling pathways during an active pathogenic infection. In the present study, we measured the expression of several genes across multiple immune signaling pathways in Gryllodes sigillatus crickets with an active or covert infection of Cricket iridovirus (CrIV). Crickets with active infections had significant inductions of several immune pathway components across the Toll, Imd, Jak/STAT, RNAi, and Pvr pathways. These results indicate that crickets can mount a robust immune response following CrIV infection. Moreover, this study gives insight into cricket-virus interactions following a viral infection and will aid future studies on immune investment and pathogen resistance.