The IMD pathway regulates the lysozyme like protein expression in the fat body of the wild silkmoth Antheraea mylitta

Lysozyme like proteins (LLPs) are characterized by lack of a specific catalytic amino acid residues essential for muramidase activity of conventional lysozymes. In the wild tasar silkworm, Antheraea mylitta, the lysozyme like protein, ALLP1 is upregulated upon bacterial infection. In the present study, we identified the signaling pathway mediating the production of ALLP1 by RNA interference mediated knockdown of the spaetzle and relish, the key regulators of Toll and IMD (Immune deficiency) pathways, respectively. We observed that knockdown of Rel but not Spz resulted in the reduced expression levels of the ALLP1. We conclude that ALLP1 is regulated by the conventional IMD pathway in the wild silkmoth.