Lipidomic Profiling Reveals Distinct Differences in Sphingolipids Metabolic Pathway between Healthy <i>Apis cerana cerana larvae</i> and Chinese Sacbrood Disease

• Main Authors: Xiaoqun Dang, Yan Li, Xiaoqing Li, Chengcheng Wang, Zhengang Ma, Linling Wang, Xiaodong Fan, Zhi Li, Dunyuan Huang, Jinshan Xu, Zeyang Zhou
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-08-01
• Series: Insects
• Subjects: Chinese sacbrood virus; <i>A. cerana cerana</i> larva; lipidomics; glycerolipids; sphingolipid
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/8/703

Chinese sacbrood disease (CSD), which is caused by Chinese sacbrood virus (CSBV), is a major viral disease in <i>Apis cerana cerana</i> larvae. Analysis of lipid composition is critical to the study of CSBV replication. The host lipidome profiling during CSBV infection has not been conducted. This paper identified the lipidome of the CSBV–larvae interaction through high-resolution mass spectrometry. A total of 2164 lipids were detected and divided into 20 categories. Comparison of lipidome between healthy and CSBV infected-larvae showed that 266 lipid species were altered by CSBV infection. Furthermore, qRT-PCR showed that various sphingolipid enzymes and the contents of sphingolipids in the larvae were increased, indicating that sphingolipids may be important for CSBV infection. Importantly, Cer (d14:1 + hO/21:0 + O), DG (41:0e), PE (18:0e/18:3), SM (d20:0/19:1), SM (d37:1), TG (16:0/18:1/18:3), TG (18:1/20:4/21:0) and TG (43:7) were significantly altered in both CSBV_24 h vs. CK_24 h and CSBV_48 h vs. CK_48 h. Moreover, TG (39:6), which was increased by more than 10-fold, could be used as a biomarker for the early detection of CSD. This study provides evidence that global lipidome homeostasis in <i>A. c. cerana</i> larvae is remodeled after CSBV infection. Detailed studies in the future may improve the understanding of the relationship between the sphingolipid pathway and CSBV replication.