Dual RNA Sequencing of Beauveria bassiana -Infected Spodoptera frugiperda Reveals a Fungal Protease with Entomopathogenic and Antiphytopathogenic Activities.

Insect pests and phytopathogens significantly impact crop yield and quality. The fall armyworm (FAW) and the phytopathogen cause substantial economic losses in crops like barley and wheat. However, the entomopathogen shows limited efficacy against FAW, and its antiphytopathogenic activities against remain unclear. Here, dual RNA sequencing was performed to identify differentially expressed genes in -infected FAW larvae. We found that the gene was significantly upregulated at 36 and 48 h post-infection. encodes a serine-carboxyl protease and is mainly expressed in blastospores and hyphae. Overexpression of in ARSEF2860 enhanced virulence against and FAW larvae and inhibited growth. The recombinant BbAorsin protein induced apoptosis and necrosis in FAW hemocytes and inhibited spore germination. These findings shed light on transcriptomic mechanisms governing insect-pathogen interactions, which could aid in developing dual-functional entomopathogens and anti-phytopathogens.