Contribution of phenoloxidase activation mechanism to Bt insecticidal protein resistance in Asian corn borer

Phenoloxidase (PO) is a crucial enzyme in the Arthropods melanization process, in which synthesized melanin rapidly acts at the site of injury and infection. In this study, we observed significant changes in humoral and cellular responses after exposing susceptible and resistant strains to a sub-lethal concentration of Cry1Ah toxin. Based on STRING v 11.0 computational protein-protein interaction analysis, we selected seven immune genes namely Prophenoloxidase PPO1b, PP03, Serpin-3, Serpin-5, Beta-1,3-glucan recognition protein, Immulectin-3 and Serine protease SP105 reported in Asian corn borer. Quantitative real-time PCR gene expression studies showed Cry1Ah resistant strain had higher expression of PPO1b, PP03, Serpin-3, Beta-1,3-glucan recognition protein, Immulectin-3 and Serine protease SP105 genes in midgut and hemocyte samples. This study also investigated and found that the level of prophenoloxidation (proPO) activity in Cry1Ah resistant strains was significantly higher than susceptible strains. Cry1Ah toxin significantly increased the resistant strain's immune responses, the difference was observed through assays of bacterial agglutination and phagocytosis. Additionally, immune response induced by Cry1Ah toxin influences the microbiome composition associated with the host system. These parameters seem to explain the contribution of PO/PO regulating proteins render the host to resist the Cry1Ah toxin.