The Developmental Disorders of Fall Armyworm (<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Caused by the Infection with <i>Nosema</i> sp. (Microsporidia: Nosematidae)
The fall armyworm (<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>), a globally invasive pest, poses substantial threats to corn in China. Microsporidia are a group of obligate intracellular parasitic fungi and are considered to have great potential in biological control. In this article, we investigated t...
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2025-04-01
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| author | Yudi Xu Haoyu Liu Xinzheng Huang Shuqian Tan Wangpeng Shi |
| author_facet | Yudi Xu Haoyu Liu Xinzheng Huang Shuqian Tan Wangpeng Shi |
| author_sort | Yudi Xu |
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| description | The fall armyworm (<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>), a globally invasive pest, poses substantial threats to corn in China. Microsporidia are a group of obligate intracellular parasitic fungi and are considered to have great potential in biological control. In this article, we investigated the pathology of <i>Nosema</i> sp. infection in <i>S. frugiperda</i> larvae at the organismal, cellular, and molecular levels. At the organism level, this microsporidian significantly prolonged the developmental duration of the host, reduced its body weight, caused molting failure, and led to a high mortality rate at 98.9%, 97.8%, and 64.0%, respectively, in 5 × 10<sup>5</sup>, 5 × 10<sup>4</sup>, 5 × 10<sup>3</sup> spores/larva doses. Microsporidia infection caused severe damage to midgut cells, including the formation of vacuoles in the cytoplasm, mitochondria, and intercellular spaces, destruction of goblet cells, and partial encapsulation of spores by mitochondria. Transcriptomic profiling revealed significant alterations in gene expression profiles in <i>S. frugiperda</i> larvae following microsporidian infection. The expression levels of genes associated with the chitin synthesis pathway (<i>CHS1</i>, <i>G6PI</i>, <i>GFAT</i>, <i>GNPNA</i>, <i>PAGM</i>, <i>UAP</i>) were inhibited, which may contribute to the effects of <i>Nosema</i> sp. on the growth and development of <i>S. frugiperda</i>. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3f5bd00781ad4d9aa2e847527733b8b5 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
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| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-3f5bd00781ad4d9aa2e847527733b8b52025-08-20T01:56:35ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072025-04-0113599410.3390/microorganisms13050994The Developmental Disorders of Fall Armyworm (<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Caused by the Infection with <i>Nosema</i> sp. (Microsporidia: Nosematidae)Yudi Xu0Haoyu Liu1Xinzheng Huang2Shuqian Tan3Wangpeng Shi4MOA Key Lab of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaMOA Key Lab of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaMOA Key Lab of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaMOA Key Lab of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaMOA Key Lab of Pest Monitoring and Green Management, Department of Entomology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, ChinaThe fall armyworm (<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>), a globally invasive pest, poses substantial threats to corn in China. Microsporidia are a group of obligate intracellular parasitic fungi and are considered to have great potential in biological control. In this article, we investigated the pathology of <i>Nosema</i> sp. infection in <i>S. frugiperda</i> larvae at the organismal, cellular, and molecular levels. At the organism level, this microsporidian significantly prolonged the developmental duration of the host, reduced its body weight, caused molting failure, and led to a high mortality rate at 98.9%, 97.8%, and 64.0%, respectively, in 5 × 10<sup>5</sup>, 5 × 10<sup>4</sup>, 5 × 10<sup>3</sup> spores/larva doses. Microsporidia infection caused severe damage to midgut cells, including the formation of vacuoles in the cytoplasm, mitochondria, and intercellular spaces, destruction of goblet cells, and partial encapsulation of spores by mitochondria. Transcriptomic profiling revealed significant alterations in gene expression profiles in <i>S. frugiperda</i> larvae following microsporidian infection. The expression levels of genes associated with the chitin synthesis pathway (<i>CHS1</i>, <i>G6PI</i>, <i>GFAT</i>, <i>GNPNA</i>, <i>PAGM</i>, <i>UAP</i>) were inhibited, which may contribute to the effects of <i>Nosema</i> sp. on the growth and development of <i>S. frugiperda</i>.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/5/994<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i><i>Nosema</i>pathologyinsect developmenttranscriptomechitin synthesis |
| spellingShingle | Yudi Xu Haoyu Liu Xinzheng Huang Shuqian Tan Wangpeng Shi The Developmental Disorders of Fall Armyworm (<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Caused by the Infection with <i>Nosema</i> sp. (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) Microorganisms <i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i> <i>Nosema</i> pathology insect development transcriptome chitin synthesis |
| title | The Developmental Disorders of Fall Armyworm (<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Caused by the Infection with <i>Nosema</i> sp. (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) |
| title_full | The Developmental Disorders of Fall Armyworm (<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Caused by the Infection with <i>Nosema</i> sp. (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) |
| title_fullStr | The Developmental Disorders of Fall Armyworm (<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Caused by the Infection with <i>Nosema</i> sp. (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Developmental Disorders of Fall Armyworm (<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Caused by the Infection with <i>Nosema</i> sp. (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) |
| title_short | The Developmental Disorders of Fall Armyworm (<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>, Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Caused by the Infection with <i>Nosema</i> sp. (Microsporidia: Nosematidae) |
| title_sort | developmental disorders of fall armyworm i spodoptera frugiperda i lepidoptera noctuidae caused by the infection with i nosema i sp microsporidia nosematidae |
| topic | <i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i> <i>Nosema</i> pathology insect development transcriptome chitin synthesis |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/13/5/994 |
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