A Parasitism-Specific Hemolymph Protein in the Fruit Fly Host, Anastrepha suspensa: Its Identification, Characterization and Function

当寄生黄蜂Biosteres Longicaudatus的雌性在加勒比海果蝇Anastrepha Susensa的幼虫中产卵时，它们也会将病毒引入寄主昆虫的血液中。此外，在寄生后2-3天内，被寄生的幼虫血液中出现一种新的蛋白质，而未被寄生的个体中没有这种新的蛋白质。宿主中寄生虫幼虫的数量会影响检测到的蛋白质的数量，甚至在寄生虫吞噬宿主组织之前就会抑制进一步的发育。将粗蛋白注射到健康果蝇幼虫体内，与过度寄生(几种寄生虫/幼虫)的方式一样，抑制其发育到蛹阶段。因此，这种寄生特异性蛋白可能是果蝇发育受阻的直接原因。在这个实验室里，劳伦斯博士将纯化这种蛋白质，以确定它对宿主的特定影响，希望它能被用来干扰果蝇的发育，从而抑制成年果蝇的数量。在这项建议中描述的工作中，PI希望确定蛋白质在哪里以及何时分泌，以便在其最大合成期间提取最大数量的蛋白质。本项目中提出的基础生理和生化研究将有助于确定该蛋白质的特性，并表明它可能被用作潜在的工具来干扰和控制果蝇的发育。有一些迹象表明，这种寄生虫特异性蛋白可能与与黄蜂卵一起引入的病毒有关。因此，病毒本身有可能被培养和提取蛋白质(但这不是拟议研究的一部分)。加勒比海果蝇是佛罗里达州和加勒比海部分地区几种热带和亚热带水果的害虫。它是北美苹果或蓝莓蛆的近亲，以及臭名昭著的地中海果蝇(MedFly)的近亲，地中海果蝇是加利福尼亚州和佛罗里达州柑橘的主要威胁。麦德蝇和相关果蝇受到与本研究中提出的寄生黄蜂密切相关的寄生黄蜂的攻击。因此，这些研究结果将与这些果蝇-寄生蜂系统最相关。此外，由于在希腊等国，这种寄生虫也被用于防治粉虱的生物防治计划中，因此本文提出的研究在果蝇防治方面具有应用潜力。

When females of the parasitic wasp Biosteres longicaudatus lay their eggs in larvae of the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa they also introduce viruses into the blood of the host insect. In addition, a new protein appears in the blood of the parasitized larvae within 2-3 days after parasitization but is absent from unparasitized individuals. The numbers of parasite larvae in a host influence the amount of the protein detected and also inhibit further development even before the parasites consume the host's tissues. Injections of the crude protein into healthy fruit fly larvae inhibit their development to the pupal stage in the same way as does superparasitism (several parasites/larvae). Thus, this parasitism-specific protein may be the direct cause of fruit fly development disruption. In this laboratory, Dr. Lawrence will purify the protein in order to identify its specific effects on the host in the hope that it can be utilized to disrupt fruit fly development and thereby suppression adult populations. In the work described in this proposal, the PI wishes to determine where and when the protein is secreted in order to extract the largest amount of the protein during the time of its maximum synthesis. The basic physiological and biochemical studies proposed in this project will help to characterize the protein and indicate how, if at all, it may be exploited as a potential tool in fruit fly developmental disruption and control. There are some indications that this parasitism-specific protein may be related to the viruses introduced with the wasp egg. Thus, the viruses themselves could potentially be cultured and the protein extracted (but this is not part of the proposed study). The Caribbean fruit fly is a pest of several tropical and subtropical fruits in Florida and parts of the Caribbean. It is a close relative of the North American apple or blueberry maggot and the notorious Mediterranean fruit fly (Medfly), a major threat to citrus in California and Florida. The Medfly and related fruit flies are attacked by parasitic wasps that are closely related to the one proposed in this study. Thus these research findings would be most relevant to these fruit fly-parasitic wasp systems. Further, since this parasite is also used in biological control programs against the Medfly in countries like Greece, the studies proposed here have application potential for fruit fly control.