'Suicide' of crickets harbouring hairworms: a proteomics investigation

David Georges Biron (1) , Fleur Ponton (1) , Laurent Marché (2) , Nicoletta Galeotti (3) , Lionel Renault (2) , Emmanuelle Demey-Thomas (3) , Jérôme Poncet (3) , Sam P. Brown (4) , Patrick Jouin (3) , Frédéric Thomas (1)

1 GEMI - Génétique et évolution des maladies infectieuses
2 BIO3P - Biologie des organismes et des populations appliquées à la protection des plantes
3 IGF - Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle
4 University of Texas at Austin [Austin]

Despite increasing evidence of host phenotypic manipulation by parasites, the underlying mechanisms causing infected hosts to act in ways that benefit the parasite remain enigmatic in most cases. Here, we used proteomics tools to identify the biochemical alterations that occur in the head of the cricket Nemobius sylvestris when it is driven to water by the hairworm Paragordius tricuspidatus. We characterized host and parasite proteomes during the expression of the water-seeking behaviour. We found that the parasite produces molecules from the Wnt family that may act directly on the development of the central nervous system (CNS). In the head of manipulated cricket, we found differential expression of proteins specifically linked to neurogenesis, circadian rhythm and neurotransmitter activities. We also detected proteins for which the function(s) are still unknown. This proteomics study on the biochemical pathways altered by hairworms has also allowed us to tackle questions of physiological and molecular convergence in the mechanism(s) causing the alteration of orthoptera behaviour. The two hairworm species produce effective molecules acting directly on the CNS of their orthoptera hosts.

Mots clés: Extended phenotype; Parasite-Host systems; Parasite manipulation; Proteomics; Extended phenotype

Domaines: Sciences du Vivant [q-bio]

David Georges Biron, Fleur Ponton, Laurent Marché, Nicoletta Galeotti, Lionel Renault, et al.. 'Suicide' of crickets harbouring hairworms: a proteomics investigation. Insect Molecular Biology, 2006, 15 (6), pp.731-742. ⟨10.1111/j.1365-2583.2006.00671.x⟩. ⟨hal-02666018⟩