ArticlePloS one2012
Pyrokinin β-neuropeptide affects necrophoretic behavior in fire ants (S. invicta), and expression of β-NP in a mycoinsecticide increases its virulence.
Article in PloS one, 2012. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 52 citations in OpenAlex.
- Control of pest ants by pathogenic fungi: state of the art.Frontiers in fungal biology · 2023Pooled it
- The Red Imported Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren, 1972): A Persistent Global Invader and the Search for Effective Control.Neotropical entomology · 2025Review
- Article
- RecombinantMicrobiology spectrum · 2024Article
- Cross-talk between immunity and behavior: insights from entomopathogenic fungi and their insect hosts.FEMS microbiology reviews · 2024Review
- The Registration Situation and Use of Mycopesticides in the World.Journal of fungi (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Review
- Transcriptomic Analysis ofInternational journal of molecular sciences · 2023Article
- A life-and-death struggle: interaction of insects with entomopathogenic fungi across various infection stages.Frontiers in immunology · 2023Review
- Current developments in the resistance, quality, and production of entomopathogenic fungi.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2022Review
- Mammalian Neuropeptides as Modulators of Microbial Infections: Their Dual Role in Defense versus Virulence and Pathogenesis.International journal of molecular sciences · 2021Review
- Altered Expression of Chemosensory and Odorant Binding Proteins in Response to Fungal Infection in the Red Imported Fire Ant,Frontiers in physiology · 2021Article
- Influence of genetic diversity of seventeen Beauveria bassiana isolates from different hosts on virulence by comparative genomics.BMC genomics · 2020Article
- Red Imported Fire Ant (Frontiers in physiology · 2020Article
- Recombinant entomopathogenic agents: a review of biotechnological approaches to pest insect control.World journal of microbiology & biotechnology · 2017Review
- BNGR-A25L and -A27 are two functional G protein-coupled receptors for CAPA periviscerokinin neuropeptides in the silkwormThe Journal of biological chemistry · 2017Article
- A new formulation of Bacillus thuringiensis: UV protection and sustained release mosquito larvae studies.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Tissue, developmental, and caste-specific expression of odorant binding proteins in a eusocial insect, the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Tenebrionid secretions and a fungal benzoquinone oxidoreductase form competing components of an arms race between a host and pathogen.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2015Article
- Article
- Expression of a toll signaling regulator serpin in a mycoinsecticide for increased virulence.Applied and environmental microbiology · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
Fire ants are one of the world's most damaging invasive pests, with few means for their effective control. Although ecologically friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides such as the insecticidal fungus Beauveria bassiana have been suggested for the control of fire ant populations, their use has been limited due to the low virulence of the fungus and the length of time it takes to kill its target. We present a means of increasing the virulence of the fungal agent by expressing a fire ant neuropeptide. Expression of the fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) pyrokinin β-neuropeptide (β-NP) by B. bassiana increased fungal virulence six-fold towards fire ants, decreased the LT(50), but did not affect virulence towards the lepidopteran, Galleria mellonella. Intriguingly, ants killed by the β-NP expressing fungus were disrupted in the removal of dead colony members, i.e. necrophoretic behavior. Furthermore, synthetic C-terminal amidated β-NP but not the non-amidated peptide had a dramatic effect on necrophoretic behavior. These data link chemical sensing of a specific peptide to a complex social behavior. Our results also confirm a new approach to insect control in which expression of host molecules in an insect pathogen can by exploited for target specific augmentation of virulence. The minimization of the development of potential insect resistance by our approach is discussed.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.