Insights into the composition and evolution of venom proteins collected from artificial host eggs in Trichogramma dendrolimi.

Xilin Jiao; Zhuo Jiang; Zelong Yang; Wanning Jiang; Xu Wang; Yan Lu; Han Lin; Changchun Ruan; Zhao Peng; Junjie Zhang; Ying Hu

Trichogramma dendrolimi is one of most successfully industrialized Trichogramma species for agricultural and forestry pest control. Despite extensive research enhancing our understanding of the physiological and behavioral traits of T. dendrolimi, the exploration of the molecular mechanisms governing parasitism in this species is hindered by the absence of functional analysis of its venom proteins. Here, we used artificial host eggs to replicate the natural oviposition behavior of wasps for the extraction of authentic venom components from T. dendrolimi. We integrated the proteome of venom proteins obtained through artificial host eggs and the transcriptome of the venom apparatus to identify the venom protein of T. dendrolimi. A total of 649 putative venom proteins were identified, with the majority being hydrolases, oxidoreductases, proteasomes, transferases, protease inhibitors, isomerases, ligases, and lyases. Among these, hydrolases, particularly serine proteases, were the most abundant protein group in T. dendrolimi venom. A phylogenetic analysis of one-to-one orthologous protein-coding genes from T. dendrolimi and 24 other hymenopteran species was performed, alongside a comparative analysis of venom proteins from these species, to investigate the relationship between venom composition and evolutionary lineage. Identifying the venom constituents will assist in understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying parasitism in Trichogramma species, presenting an opportunity to utilize these components as effective bioinsecticides.

PROTEOMICS; PROTEASOMES; AGRICULTURAL pests; TRICHOGRAMMA; ISOMERASES; VENOM

Entomologia Generalis, 2024, Vol 44, Issue 6, p1557

0171-8177

Academic Journal

10.1127/entomologia/2024/2738