Suppression of Drosophila antifungal immunity by a parasite effector via blocking GNBP3 and GNBP-like 3, the dual receptors for β-glucans
Mengting Lu,
Dongxiang Wei,
Junmei Shang,
Shiqin Li,
Shuangxiu Song,
Yujuan Luo,
Guirong Tang,
Chengshu Wang
Affiliations
Mengting Lu
Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
Dongxiang Wei
Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Junmei Shang
Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
Shiqin Li
Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
Shuangxiu Song
Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
Yujuan Luo
Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China
Guirong Tang
Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China
Chengshu Wang
Key Laboratory of Insect Developmental and Evolutionary Biology, CAS Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences, Shanghai Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200032, China; CAS Center for Excellence in Biotic Interactions, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; School of Life Science and Technology, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai 201210, China; Corresponding author
Summary: The tactics used by animal pathogens to combat host immunity are largely unclear. Here, we report the depiction of the virulence-required effector Tge1 deployed by the entomopathogen Metarhizium robertsii to suppress Drosophila antifungal immunity. Tge1 can target both GNBP3 and GNBP-like 3 (GL3), and the latter can bind to β-glucans like GNBP3, whereas the glucan binding by both receptors can be attenuated by Tge1. As opposed to the surveillance GNBP3, GL3 is inducible in Drosophila depending on the Toll pathway via a positive feedback loop mechanism. Losses of GNBP3 and GL3 genes result in the deregulations of protease cascade, Spätzle maturation, and antimicrobial gene expressions in Drosophila upon fungal challenges. Fly survival assays confirm that GL3 plays a more essential role than GNBP3 in combating fungal infections. In addition to evidencing the gene-for-gene interactions between fungi and insects, our data advance insights into Drosophila antifungal immunity.
