Isolation of antibacterial response genes from the dung beetle Copris tripartitus (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) immunized with Escherichia coli

Dot blot hybridization of total RNA from normal and bacteria-injected larvae of the dung beetle Copris tripartitus identified 13 cDNA clones that seem to be associated with the immune response. A cDNA encoding a dung beetle homolog of the heat shock protein HSP70 (CTHSP70) was characterized by full-length sequencing and expression pattern analysis. CTHSP70 was upregulated 4 h after bacterial injection, reached maximum level after 8 h, and declined gradually after 16 h. Our data suggest that CTHSP70 and another 12 genes are involved in the anti-microbial defense that is particularly important for dung beetle larvae living in pathogen-rich conditions.