Role of c-Jun NH_(2)-terminal kinase-mediated mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway in response to pesticides in Apis cerana cerana

The mitogen-activated protein kinase(MAPK)cascade pathway plays an important role in regulating stress responses.The function of the c-Jun NH_(2)-terminal kinase(JNK),a component of the MAPK cascade pathway,in Apis cerana cerana(Acc)remains unclear.Here,JNK was isolated and identified from Acc.Bioinformatics analyses revealed there is a typical serine/threonine protein kinase catalytic domain in the AccJNK protein.An expression profile analysis showed that AccJNK was significantly induced by pesticide treatments.To further explore the functional mechanisms of AccJNK,a yeast 2-hybrid screen was performed,activator protein-1(AP-1)was screened as the interaction partner of AccJNK,and the interaction relationship was further verified by pull-down assay.Quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction showed the expression pattern of AccAP-I was similar to that of AccJNK.After a knockdown of AccJNK or AccAP-I by RNA interference,the survival rate of Acc after pesticide treatments increased.Additionally,the expression levels of antioxidant-related genes and the activities of antioxidant enzymes increased,suggesting that the knockdown of AccJNK or AccAP-I increased the antioxidant capacity of bees.Our study revealed that the JNK-mediated MAPK pathway responds to pesticide stress by altering the antioxidant capacity of Acc.