Nitric oxide radicals are emitted by wasp eggs to kill mold fungi
Detrimental microbes caused the evolution of a great diversity of antimicrobial defenses in plants and animals. Insects developing underground seem particularly threatened. Here we show that the eggs of a solitary digger wasp, the European beewolf Philanthus triangulum, emit large amounts of gaseous...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2019-06-01
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| Series: | eLife |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/43718 |
| _version_ | 1811199502334296064 |
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| author | Erhard Strohm Gudrun Herzner Joachim Ruther Martin Kaltenpoth Tobias Engl |
| author_facet | Erhard Strohm Gudrun Herzner Joachim Ruther Martin Kaltenpoth Tobias Engl |
| author_sort | Erhard Strohm |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Detrimental microbes caused the evolution of a great diversity of antimicrobial defenses in plants and animals. Insects developing underground seem particularly threatened. Here we show that the eggs of a solitary digger wasp, the European beewolf Philanthus triangulum, emit large amounts of gaseous nitric oxide (NO⋅) to protect themselves and their provisions, paralyzed honeybees, against mold fungi. We provide evidence that a NO-synthase (NOS) is involved in the generation of the extraordinary concentrations of nitrogen radicals in brood cells (~1500 ppm NO⋅ and its oxidation product NO2⋅). Sequencing of the beewolf NOS gene revealed no conspicuous differences to related species. However, due to alternative splicing, the NOS-mRNA in beewolf eggs lacks an exon near the regulatory domain. This preventive external application of high doses of NO⋅ by wasp eggs represents an evolutionary key innovation that adds a remarkable novel facet to the array of functions of the important biological effector NO⋅. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:49:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-320df31155c3447585a3722664b94104 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-12T01:49:09Z |
| publishDate | 2019-06-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj.art-320df31155c3447585a3722664b941042022-12-22T03:52:58ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2019-06-01810.7554/eLife.43718Nitric oxide radicals are emitted by wasp eggs to kill mold fungiErhard Strohm0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8899-9765Gudrun Herzner1Joachim Ruther2Martin Kaltenpoth3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9450-0345Tobias Engl4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2200-2678Evolutionary Ecology Group, Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, GermanyEvolutionary Ecology Group, Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, GermanyChemical Ecology Group, Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, GermanyEvolutionary Ecology Group, Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Insect Symbiosis Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, GermanyEvolutionary Ecology Group, Institute of Zoology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; Insect Symbiosis Research Group, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Jena, GermanyDetrimental microbes caused the evolution of a great diversity of antimicrobial defenses in plants and animals. Insects developing underground seem particularly threatened. Here we show that the eggs of a solitary digger wasp, the European beewolf Philanthus triangulum, emit large amounts of gaseous nitric oxide (NO⋅) to protect themselves and their provisions, paralyzed honeybees, against mold fungi. We provide evidence that a NO-synthase (NOS) is involved in the generation of the extraordinary concentrations of nitrogen radicals in brood cells (~1500 ppm NO⋅ and its oxidation product NO2⋅). Sequencing of the beewolf NOS gene revealed no conspicuous differences to related species. However, due to alternative splicing, the NOS-mRNA in beewolf eggs lacks an exon near the regulatory domain. This preventive external application of high doses of NO⋅ by wasp eggs represents an evolutionary key innovation that adds a remarkable novel facet to the array of functions of the important biological effector NO⋅.https://elifesciences.org/articles/43718antimicrobial strategynitric oxidenitric oxide synthasemould fungiinsect eggPhilanthus triangulum |
| spellingShingle | Erhard Strohm Gudrun Herzner Joachim Ruther Martin Kaltenpoth Tobias Engl Nitric oxide radicals are emitted by wasp eggs to kill mold fungi eLife antimicrobial strategy nitric oxide nitric oxide synthase mould fungi insect egg Philanthus triangulum |
| title | Nitric oxide radicals are emitted by wasp eggs to kill mold fungi |
| title_full | Nitric oxide radicals are emitted by wasp eggs to kill mold fungi |
| title_fullStr | Nitric oxide radicals are emitted by wasp eggs to kill mold fungi |
| title_full_unstemmed | Nitric oxide radicals are emitted by wasp eggs to kill mold fungi |
| title_short | Nitric oxide radicals are emitted by wasp eggs to kill mold fungi |
| title_sort | nitric oxide radicals are emitted by wasp eggs to kill mold fungi |
| topic | antimicrobial strategy nitric oxide nitric oxide synthase mould fungi insect egg Philanthus triangulum |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/43718 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT erhardstrohm nitricoxideradicalsareemittedbywaspeggstokillmoldfungi AT gudrunherzner nitricoxideradicalsareemittedbywaspeggstokillmoldfungi AT joachimruther nitricoxideradicalsareemittedbywaspeggstokillmoldfungi AT martinkaltenpoth nitricoxideradicalsareemittedbywaspeggstokillmoldfungi AT tobiasengl nitricoxideradicalsareemittedbywaspeggstokillmoldfungi |