eprintid: 10083031 rev_number: 23 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/08/30/31 datestamp: 2019-10-15 16:01:27 lastmod: 2021-10-04 00:55:18 status_changed: 2019-10-15 16:01:27 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Colgan, TJ creators_name: Carolan, JC creators_name: Sumner, S creators_name: Blaxter, ML creators_name: Brown, MJF title: Infection by the castrating parasitic nematode Sphaerularia bombi changes gene expression in Bombus terrestris bumblebee queens ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B02 divisions: C08 divisions: D09 divisions: F99 keywords: pollinator health, insect immunity, molecular parasitism, extended phenotype note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: Parasitism can result in dramatic changes in host phenotype, which are themselves underpinned by genes and their expression. Understanding how hosts respond at the molecular level to parasites can therefore reveal the molecular architecture of an altered host phenotype. The entomoparasitic nematode Sphaerularia bombi is a parasite of bumblebee (Bombus) hosts where it induces complex behavioural changes and host castration. To examine this interaction at the molecular level, we performed genome‐wide transcriptional profiling using RNA‐Seq of S. bombi‐infected Bombus terrestris queens at two critical time‐points: during and just after overwintering diapause. We found that infection by S. bombi affects the transcription of genes underlying host biological processes associated with energy usage, translation, and circadian rhythm. We also found that the parasite affects the expression of immune genes, including members of the Toll signaling pathway providing evidence for a novel interaction between the parasite and the host immune response. Taken together, our results identify host biological processes and genes affected by an entomoparasitic nematode providing the first steps towards a molecular understanding of this ecologically important host‐parasite interaction. date: 2020-04 date_type: published official_url: https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12618 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1700663 doi: 10.1111/imb.12618 lyricists_name: Sumner, Seirian lyricists_id: SRMSU05 actors_name: Allington-Smith, Dominic actors_id: DAALL44 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Insect Molecular Biology volume: 29 number: 2 pagerange: 170-182 event_location: England issn: 1365-2583 citation: Colgan, TJ; Carolan, JC; Sumner, S; Blaxter, ML; Brown, MJF; (2020) Infection by the castrating parasitic nematode Sphaerularia bombi changes gene expression in Bombus terrestris bumblebee queens. Insect Molecular Biology , 29 (2) pp. 170-182. 10.1111/imb.12618 <https://doi.org/10.1111/imb.12618>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10083031/3/Sumner_2019_Colgan_Sbombi_manuscript_for_publication_without_line_numbers.pdf