Molecular Cloning and Expression Analysis of Three Suppressors of Cytokine Signaling Genes ( SOCS5 , SOCS6 , SOCS7 ) in the Mealworm Beetle Tenebrio molitor

• Published in: Insects (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 10; no. 3; p. 76
• Main Authors: Patnaik, Bharat Bhusan, Kim, Bo Bae, Jo, Yong Hun, Bang, In Seok
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 16.03.2019; MDPI
• Subjects: Amino acids; Beetles; Cloning; Cytokines; E coli; Gene expression; Genes; Growth factors; Hemocytes; Homeostasis; Immune response; Immune system; insect immunity; Insects; Invertebrates; Janus kinase; Kinases; Larvae; Microorganisms; Nucleotides; Open reading frames; Ovaries; Phylogenetics; Phylogeny; Polypeptides; Proteins; Signaling; suppressor of cytokine signaling; Suppressors; Tenebrio molitor; Transcription factors; Transducers; suppressor of cytokine signaling; Tenebrio molitor; gene expression; insect immunity
• ISSN: 2075-4450; 2075-4450
• DOI: 10.3390/insects10030076

Suppressors of cytokine signaling (SOCS) influence cytokine and growth factor signaling by negatively regulating the Janus kinase (JAK)-signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) pathway to maintain homeostasis during immune responses. However, functional characterization of SOCS family members in invertebrates is limited. Here, we identified and evaluated three SOCS genes (type I sub-family) in the mealworm beetle . The full-length open reading frames (ORFs) of TmSOCS5, TmSOCS6, and TmSOCS7 comprised of 1389, 897, and 1458 nucleotides, encoding polypeptides of 462, 297, and 485 amino acids, respectively. The SH2 and SOCS box domains of the TmSOCS C-terminal region were highly conserved. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that these SOCS genes were clustered within the type I subfamily that exhibits the highest amino acid identity with SOCS genes. Contrary to TmSOCS7 expression, the expression levels of TmSOCS5 and TmSOCS6 were lower in the larval, pupal, and adult stages. In larvae and adults, the expression levels of TmSOCS5 and TmSOCS6 were highest in the hemocytes and ovaries, respectively. SOCS transcripts were also highly upregulated in the hemocytes of larvae within 3⁻6 h post-infection with the fungus . Collectively, these results provide valuable information regarding the involvement of TmSOCS type-I subfamily in the host immune response of insects.