UNASSIGNED: Hepialus xiaojinensis is an economically important species of Lepidopteran insect. The fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis can infect its larvae, which leads to mummification after 5-12 months, providing a valuable system with which to study interactions between the insect hosts and pathogenic fungi. However, little sequence information is available for this insect. A time-course analysis of the fat body transcriptome was performed to explore the host immune response to @entity28826 @entity281 . In total, 50,164 unigenes were obtained by assembling the reads from two high-throughput approaches: 454 pyrosequencing and Illumina Hiseq2000. Hierarchical clustering and functional examination revealed four major gene clusters. Clusters 1-3 included transcripts markedly induced by the @entity364 within 72  h. Cluster 4, with a lower number of transcripts, was suppressed during the early phase of @entity281 but returned to normal expression levels sometime before 1 year. Based on sequence similarity to orthologs known to participate in immune defenses, 258 candidate immunity-related transcripts were identified, and their functions were hypothesized. The genes were more primitive than those in other Lepidopteran insects. In addition, lineage-specific family expansion of the clip-domain @entity563 proteases and C-type lectins were apparent and likely caused by selection pressures. Global expression profiles of immunity-related genes indicated that H. xiaojinensis was capable of a rapid response to an @entity28826 challenge; however, the larvae developed tolerance to the fungus after prolonged @entity281 , probably due to immune suppression. Specifically, antimicrobial peptide mRNAs could not be detected after @entity281 , because key components of the Toll pathway (MyD88, Pelle and Cactus) were downregulated. Taken together, this study provides insights into the defense system of H. xiaojinensis, and a basis for understanding the molecular aspects of the interaction between the host and the entomopathogen.

Transcriptomic insight into the immune defenses in the ghost moth, Hepialus xiaojinensis, during an XXXX .

@entity28826 :: ('260630', 'Species') :: ['O. sinensis'] @entity281 :: ('MESH:D007239', 'Disease') :: ['infection', 'chronic infection'] @entity364 :: ('MESH:D009181', 'Disease') :: ['fungal infection'] @entity563 :: ('CHEBI:17822', 'Chemical') :: ['serine']
@entity364 :: (MESH:D009181,Disease) :: ['Ophiocordyceps sinensis fungal infection']
