LAUSR

In insects, lipid digestion is controversial because insects have no bile salts to solubilize dietary lipids. One hypothesis is that a secretory type of phospholipase A2 (sPLA2) provides lysophospholipid (LPL) from dietary phospholipids (PLs). We identified a sPLA2, Se‐sPLA2, in beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua, that hydrolyses PLs at sn‐2. Our goal was to investigate its role in lipid digestion. Se‐sPLA2 was expressed in the entire alimentary canal. Incubating the isolated midgut in a cell culture medium led to secretion of Se‐sPLA2 and other proteins. Ex vivo RNA interference (RNAi) of Se‐sPLA2 expression in isolated midgut culture led to significantly decreased Se‐sPLA2 secretion into the medium. Feeding double‐stranded RNA specific to Se‐sPLA2 to larvae suppressed sPLA2 activity in gut contents. A recombinant Se‐sPLA2 was susceptible to benzylideneacetone (BZA), a specific PLA2 inhibitor. After feeding BZA to larvae, we recorded significant decreases in gut content sPLA2 activity, body growth and total haemolymph lipid contents. RNAi against Se‐sPLA2 resulted in reduced digestibility. Addition of a specific LPL, 1‐palmitoyl‐sn‐glycero‐3‐phosphocholine, to BZA‐treated larvae rescued digestibility and larval growth. These results strongly bolster our hypothesis that Se‐sPLA2 secreted from the midgut acts in lipid digestion by providing necessary LPL to solubilize dietary neutral lipids.