Rab3 is involved in cellular immune responses of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera

• Knockdown of Ha-Rab3 led to reduced phagocytosis activities of hemocytes.
• Knockdown of Ha-Rab3 led to reduced nodule formation.
• RNAi-treated larvae showed increased bacterial growth in larval hemolymph.
• Knockdown of Ha-Rab3 led to reduced encapsulation activities of hemocytes.
• Ha-Rab3 knockdown suppressed spreading of plasmatocytes.

Rab3, a member of the Rab GTPase family, has been found to be involved in innate immunity. However, the precise function of this GTPase in innate immunity remains unknown. In this study, we identified a Rab3 gene (Ha-Rab3) from the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera and studied its roles in innate immune responses. Expression of Ha-Rab3 was upregulated in the hemocytes of H. armigera larvae after the injection of Escherichia coli or chromatography beads. The dsRNA-mediated knockdown of Ha-Rab3 gene in H. armigera larval hemocytes led to significant reduction in the phagocytosis and nodulation activities of hemocytes against E. coli, significant increase in the bacterial load in larval hemolymph, and significant reduction in the encapsulation activities of hemocytes toward invading chromatography beads. Furthermore, Ha-Rab3 knockdown significantly suppressed spreading of plasmatocytes. These results suggest that Ha-Rab3 plays important roles in H. armigera cellular immune responses, possibly by mediating spreading of hemocytes.