Abstract

Simple SummaryCurrently, knowledge regardingApis cerana–Nosema ceranaeinteraction is very limited, thoughA. ceranais the original host ofN. ceranae.Apis cerana ceranais a subspecies ofA. ceranaand a major bee species used in the beekeeping industry in China and other countries. Here, the effective infection ofA. c. ceranaworkers byN. ceranaewas verified, followed by transcriptomic investigation of host responses. Furthermore, immune responses betweenA. c. ceranaandApis mellifera ligusticawere deeply compared and discussed. In total, 1127 and 957N. ceranae-responsive genes were identified in the infected midguts at 7 d post-inoculation (dpi) and 10 dpi, respectively. Additionally, DEGs in workers’ midguts at both 7 dpi and 10 dpi were associated with six cellular immune pathways and three humoral immune pathways. Noticeably, one up-regulated gene was enriched in the NF-κB signaling pathway in the midgut at 10 dpi. Further analysis indicated that different cellular and humoral immune responses were employed byA. c. ceranaandA. m. ligusticaworkers to combatN. ceranae. Our findings provide a foundation for clarifying the mechanisms regulating the immune response ofA. c. ceranaworkers toN. ceranaeinvasion and developing new approaches to control bee microsporidiosis.AbstractHere, a comparative transcriptome investigation was conducted based on high-quality deep sequencing data from the midguts ofApis cerana ceranaworkers at 7 d post-inoculation (dpi) and 10 dpi withNosema ceranaeand corresponding un-inoculated midguts. PCR identification and microscopic observation of paraffin sections confirmed the effective infection ofA. c. ceranaworker byN. ceranae. In total, 1127 and 957N. ceranae-responsive genes were identified in the infected midguts at 7 dpi and 10 dpi, respectively. RT-qPCR results validated the reliability of our transcriptome data. GO categorization indicated t