Early Transcriptomic Response of Aedes albopictus Larvae to Cry4Ba Toxin Exposure

Kalkan H. S., Savga S., Arıkan M.

12. Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Symposium, Mersin, Türkiye, 6 - 10 Temmuz 2026, ss.1, (Özet Bildiri)

  • Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
  • Basıldığı Şehir: Mersin
  • Basıldığı Ülke: Türkiye
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.1
  • İstanbul Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Bacillus thuringiensis Cry toxins are widely used for mosquito control, yet the early molecular responses they induce in target larvae remain incompletely characterized. In this study, we investigated the transcriptomic response of Aedes albopictus larvae to Cry4Ab exposure at 12 h post-treatment using RNA sequencing. Larval RNA was sequenced and analyzed through a reference-guided differential expression workflow, and significantly altered transcripts were identified by differential expression analysis. A total of 56 genes showed significant differential expression (adjusted p < 0.05), many of which exhibited large expression changes, and the response was dominated by upregulated transcripts. Functionally, the induced genes were enriched in structural and cuticle-associated components, together with factors related to tissue remodeling, proteolysis, membrane-associated processes, and transcriptional regulation. In contrast, the smaller set of downregulated genes included transcripts associated with proteolytic activity, membrane-associated functions, structural glycoproteins and xenobiotic-related metabolism. Several of the most responsive transcripts remained uncharacterized, indicating that important Cry4Ab-responsive factors in A. albopictus are still poorly annotated. Overall, the 12 h transcriptional profile suggests that Cry4Ab exposure elicits an early response characterized primarily by structural and cuticle-related remodeling together with selective changes in proteolytic, membrane-associated, and metabolic functions, rather than a broadly detoxification-dominated signature. These findings provide a transcriptome-level overview of the early larval response to Cry4Ab and identify candidate functional groups for further investigation.