The IMD and Toll canonical immune pathways of Triatoma pallidipennis are preferentially activated by Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, respectively, but cross-activation also occurs

BACKGROUND: Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) participate in the humoral immune response of insects eliminating invasive microorganisms. The immune deficiency pathway (IMD) and Toll are the main pathways by which the synthesis of these molecules is regulated in response to Gram-negative (IMD pathway) or Gram-positive (Toll pathway) bacteria. Various pattern-recognition receptors (PRRs) participate in the recognition of microorganisms, such as pgrp-lc and toll, which trigger signaling cascades and activate NF-κB family transcription factors, such as relish, that translocate to the cell nucleus, mainly in the fat body, inducing AMP gene transcription. METHODS: T. pallidipennis inhibited in Tppgrp-lc, Tptoll, and Tprelish were challenged with E. coli and M. luteus to analyze the expression of AMPs transcripts in the fat body and to execute survival assays. RESULTS: In this work we investigated the participation of the pgrp-lc and toll receptor genes and the relish transcription factor (designated as Tppgrp-lc, Tptoll, and Tprelish), in the transcriptional regulation of defensin B, prolixicin, and lysozyme B in Triatoma pallidipennis, one of the main vectors of Chagas disease. AMP transcript abundance was higher in the fat body of blood-fed than non-fed bugs. Challenge with Escherichia coli or Micrococcus luteus induced differential increases in AMP transcripts. Additionally, silencing of Tppgrp-lc, Tptoll, and Tprelish resulted in reduced AMP transcription and survival of bugs after a bacterial challenge. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated that the IMD and Toll pathways in T. pallidipennis preferentially respond to Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, respectively, by increasing the expression of AMP transcripts, but cross-induction also occurs. GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT: [Image: see text] SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13071-022-05363-y.