Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) is transmitted by Frankliniella occidentalis in a persistent propagative manner. Despite the extensive replication of TSWV in midgut and salivary glands, there is little to no pathogenic effect on F. occidentalis. We hypothesize that the first-instar larva (L1) of F. occidentalis mounts a response to TSWV that protects it from pathogenic effects caused by virus infection and replication in various insect tissues. A partial thrips transcriptome was generated using 454-Titanium sequencing of cDNA generated from F. occidentalis exposed to TSWV. Using these sequences, the L1 thrips proteome that resolved on a two-dimensional gel was characterized. Forty-seven percent of the resolved protein spots were identified using the thrips transcriptome. Real-time quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR) analysis of virus titer in L1 thrips revealed a significant increase in the normalized abundance of TSWV nucleocapsid RNA from 2 to 21 h after a 3-h acquisition access period on virus-infected plant tissue, indicative of infection and accumulation of virus. We compared the proteomes of infected and noninfected L1s to identify proteins that display differential abundances in response to virus. Using four biological replicates, 26 spots containing 37 proteins were significantly altered in response to TSWV. Gene ontology assignments for 32 of these proteins revealed biological roles associated with the infection cycle of other plant- and animal-infecting viruses and antiviral defense responses. Our findings support the hypothesis that L1 thrips display a complex reaction to TSWV infection and provide new insights toward unraveling the molecular basis of this interaction.
