Unknown

Dataset Information

0

Nitric oxide radicals are emitted by wasp eggs to kill mold fungi.


ABSTRACT: 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⋅.

SUBMITTER: Strohm E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6559793 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

altmetric image

Publications

Nitric oxide radicals are emitted by wasp eggs to kill mold fungi.

Strohm Erhard E   Herzner Gudrun G   Ruther Joachim J   Kaltenpoth Martin M   Engl Tobias T  

eLife 20190611


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 <i>Philanthus triangulum,</i> emit large amounts of gaseous nitric oxide (NO<sup>⋅</sup>) 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  ...[more]

Similar Datasets

| S-EPMC3085516 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC1135961 | biostudies-other
| S-EPMC10790689 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC3823782 | biostudies-literature
2021-01-18 | GSE164521 | GEO
| S-EPMC3496159 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC1130701 | biostudies-other
| S-EPMC5222500 | biostudies-literature
| S-EPMC5500562 | biostudies-literature
| PRJNA691047 | ENA