Multi-Omic Identification of Venom Proteins Collected from Artificial Hosts of a Parasitoid Wasp

Habrobracon hebetor is a parasitoid wasp capable of infesting many lepidopteran larvae. It uses venom proteins to immobilize host larvae and prevent host larval development, thus playing an important role in the biocontrol of lepidopteran pests. To identify and characterize its venom proteins, we developed a novel venom collection method using an artificial host (ACV), i.e., encapsulated amino acid solution in paraffin membrane, allowing parasitoid wasps to inject venom. We performed protein full mass spectrometry analysis of putative venom proteins collected from ACV and venom reservoirs (VRs) (control). To verify the accuracy of proteomic data, we also collected venom glands (VGs), Dufour's glands (DGs) and ovaries (OVs), and performed transcriptome analysis. In this paper, we identified 204 proteins in ACV via proteomic analysis; compared ACV putative venom proteins with those identified in VG, VR, and DG via proteome and transcriptome approaches; and verified a set of them using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Finally, 201 ACV proteins were identified as potential venom proteins. In addition, we screened 152 and 148 putative venom proteins identified in the VG transcriptome and the VR proteome against those in ACV, and found only 26 and 25 putative venom proteins, respectively, were overlapped with those in ACV. Altogether, our data suggest proteome analysis of ACV in combination with proteome-transcriptome analysis of other organs/tissues will provide the most comprehensive identification of true venom proteins in parasitoid wasps.

Automated summary

Habrobracon hebetor is an important parasitoid wasp in biocontrol of lepidopteran pests. We developed a novel venom collection method and identified 204 potential venom proteins through proteomic and transcriptomic analysis. This comprehensive approach provides a more accurate identification of true venom proteins in parasitoid wasps.