Overall Effects of Btt Exposure, Pesticide Selection, and
Pesticide Exposure on Gene Expression
Overall, we identified differentially expressed genes associated with
immunity in beetles exposed to Btt compared to unexposed beetles.
We also identified differentially expressed genes implicated in
detoxification and resistance processes in OP- and Pyr-regime
populations compared to control-regime populations. Few genes were
significantly differentially expressed in pesticide-regime populations
exposed to Btt compared to control-regime populations. However,
Pyr-regime larvae infected with Btt exhibited dampened expression
of immune genes. Dual exposure to OP pesticides and Btt also
resulted in dampened immune, cuticle, and detoxification gene expression
compared to expression with Btt infection alone. We expand on
these main results below.