Insects defend against fungal infection by employing microRNAs to silence virulence-related genes

Abstract

Chemical insecticides remain the main strategy to combat mosquito-borne diseases, but the growing threat of insecticide resistance prompts the urgent need to develop alternative, ecofriendly, and sustainable vector control tools. Entomopathogenic fungi can overcome insecticide resistance and represent promising biocontrol tools for the control of mosquitoes. However, insects have evolved robust defense mechanisms against infection. Better understanding of mosquito defenses against fungal infection is critical for improvement of fungal efficacy. Here, we show that as the pathogenic fungus <i>Beauveria bassiana</i> penetrates into the host hemocoel, mosquitoes increase expression of the let-7 and miR-100 microRNAs (miRNAs). Both miRNAs translocate into fungal hyphae to specifically silence the virulence-related genes <i>sec2p</i> and <i>C6TF</i>, encoding a Rab guanine nucleotide exchange factor and a Zn(II)₂Cys₆ transcription factor, respectively. Inversely, expression of a let-7 sponge (anti-let-7) or a miR-100 sponge (anti-miR-100) in the fungus efficiently sequesters the corresponding translocated host miRNA. Notably, <i>B. bassiana</i> strains expressing anti-let-7 and anti-miR-100 are markedly more virulent to mosquitoes. Our findings reveal an insect defense strategy that employs miRNAs to induce cross-kingdom silencing of pathogen virulence-related genes, conferring resistance to infection.