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Proteomics Provides Insight into the Interaction between Mulberry and Silkworm
Dandan Wang1, Zhaoming Dong1, Yan Zhang1
1State Key Laboratory of Silkworm Genome Biology, ‡Chongqing Engineering and Technology Research Center for Novel Silk Materials, and §College of Biotechnology, Southwest University , 2 Tiansheng Road, Beibei, Chongqing 400716, China.
Journal of Proteome Research
|May 16, 2017
Summary
Mulberry leaves provide nutrients for silkworms but also contain proteins that defend against insect feeding. This study reveals how plant proteins interact with silkworms at a molecular level.
Area of Science:
- Proteomics
- Insect-plant interactions
- Biochemistry
Background:
- Mulberry leaves are the primary food for silkworms (Bombyx mori).
- The molecular mechanisms underlying this long-term interaction are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the protein-level interactions between mulberry leaves and silkworms.
- To identify how mulberry leaf proteins are processed or utilized by silkworms.
Main Methods:
- Comparative proteomics using shotgun liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.
- Analysis of proteins extracted from mulberry leaves and silkworm feces.
- Classification of proteins based on subcellular location.
Main Results:
- 2076 foliar proteins identified in mulberry leaves and 210 in silkworm feces.
- Chloroplast proteins decreased from 68.3% in leaves to 23.2% in feces.
- Secretory-pathway proteins increased from 7.3% in leaves to 60.1% in feces, showing resistance to digestion.
Conclusions:
- Mulberry leaves offer nutrients but also employ defensive proteins against silkworm feeding.
- Secretory-pathway proteins in feces suggest plant defense mechanisms.
- Despite defenses, silkworms thrive, indicating complex host-plant-herbivore dynamics.
