A copy of cystatin from the diamondback moth Plutella xylostella is encoded in the polydnavirus Cotesia plutellae bracovirus

•Three viral cystatins (CSTs) are encoded in Cotesia plutellae bracovirus (CpBV).•A CST sequence of the nonparasitized larvae was 100% identical with that of CpBV-CST1.•An in vivo transient expression of CpBV-CST1 induced an immunosuppression and developmental alteration.

Cystatins (CSTs) are reversible and competitive inhibitors of cysteine proteases. Some polydnaviruses encode viral CSTs that have been speculated to play a crucial role in viral pathology. Four CSTs have been reported in the episomal genome of a polydnavirus, Cotesia plutellae (synonymous with C. vestalis) bracovirus (CpBV). These 4 CSTs share high sequence homologies with other bracoviral CSTs. Further sequence analysis showed that 2 of the CpBV-CSTs are identical. The remaining 3 CSTs have been designated CpBV-CST1, CpBV-CST2, and CpBV-CST3. Expression analysis indicated that CpBV-CST2 was not expressed in any stage of Plutella xylostella, either parasitized or non-parasitized by C. plutellae. However, both CpBV-CST1 and CpBV-CST3 were expressed in all stages of P. xylostella. Interestingly, these 2 genes were also expressed in non-parasitized P. xylostella in all developmental stages. A CST sequence from the non-parasitized larva was 100% identical with that of CpBV-CST1 for the entire open reading frame (ORF). To understand the role of CpBV-CST1 in viral pathology, the ORF was cloned into a eukaryotic expression vector and transiently expressed in non-parasitized larvae. The in vivo transient expression lasted for at least 4 days. Under this condition, the treated larvae suffered significant suppression in immune responses and in development. These results suggest that CpBV-CSTs play a crucial role in parasitism, altering host immune and developmental processes by interrupting normal interactions between CSTs and cysteine proteases in P. xylostella.

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