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The occurrence and distribution of insects and their possible associations with plant species are largely unknown in Germany and baseline data to monitor future trends are urgently needed. Using newly-designed automated Malaise trap multi-samplers, the occurrence of insect species and their potential associations with plants was monitored synchronously at two contrasting field sites in Germany: an urban botanical garden and a forest research station. Taxa were identified by metabarcoding of the insects and the plant traces present in the preservative ethanol of the Malaise trap samples. For comparison, a botanical survey was conducted in the vicinity of the traps. Across both sites, we identified a total of 1290 exact sequence variants (ESVs) assigned to Insecta, of which 205 are known to be pollinators. In the botanical garden, we detected the occurrence of 128 plant taxa, of which 41 also had one of their known insect pollinator species detected. Insect species richness was highest in May, mainly attributed to an increase in Diptera. These results present a case study of the applicability of automated sampling and DNA-based methods to monitor the timings of flowering and corresponding activity of plant-visiting insects.

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Climate change and global warming in the Sahelian region cause dramatic drought and advancing of the desert. This phenomenon could affect the plant survival and community composition, but even for surviving plants, it could affect their phenology and the insect community associated with them. In a space-for-time approach, we studied the case of Annona senegalensis Pers. (Annonaceae), a common shrub in tropical areas, to determine the impact of climate change on its phenology and the insects associated with its flowers and fruits. We determined the phenology phases of Annona senegalensis during a 1-year period and assessed the abundance and diversity of insects in the Sudanian and the Sudano-Sahelian climatic zones of Burkina Faso. Temperature, rainfall and relative humidity were recorded during 12 months in two sites per zone. Leafing of Annona senegalensis lasted 10 months in the Sudanian zone, flowering and fruiting were 3 months long. In the Sudano-Sahelian zone, leafing lasted 8 months while flowering and fruiting were 3 and 4 months long, respectively. A total of 10,040 insects belonging to 48 species were collected in the two climatic zones. Forty-six species were found in the Sudanian zone while 25 species were recorded in the Sudano-Sahelian one. The variations in the plant phenology and the insect community were mainly due to the variation in rainfall across both climatic zones. Our results emphasize that advancing of the desert due to climate change could not only affect the survival of plants but for resistant species it also affect their interactions with insects and the whole insect community associated.

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Understanding the ecological and evolutionary aspects of mutualistic interactions is essential for predicting species responses to environmental changes. This study aimed to investigate the phenological patterns and reproductive strategies in two closely related fig tree species, Ficus citrifolia and Ficus eximia. We monitored 99 F. citrifolia and 21 F. eximia trees weekly from January 2006 to April 2011 in an area close to the southern edge of the tropical region in Brazil. Our results revealed contrasting phenological patterns between the two species, with F. citrifolia displaying an annual flowering pattern (1.4 episodes per tree per year) and F. eximia a supra-annual pattern (0.5 episodes per tree per year). We also found significant differences in reproductive strategies, with F. eximia producing more pistillate flowers and, consequently, more seeds and pollinating wasps per fig than F. citrifolia, likely as an adaptation to overcome limitations of low population density by maximizing the gene flow. As the shorter-lived organism, the fig wasp was found to influence critical processes associated with the success and stability of mutualism, such as fig development and ripening. Our findings emphasize the importance of understanding the intricate interactions between mutualistic partners and their adaptive responses to environmental conditions in shaping fig tree populations' reproductive strategies and genetic structure.

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Sugarcane aphid has emerged as a major pest of sorghum recently, and a few sorghum accessions were identified for resistance to this aphid so far. However, the molecular and genetic mechanisms underlying this resistance are still unclear. To understand these mechanisms, transcriptomics was conducted in resistant Tx2783 and susceptible BTx623 sorghum genotypes infested with sugarcane aphids. A principal component analysis revealed differences in the transcriptomic profiles of the two genotypes. The pathway analysis of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) indicated the upregulation of a set of genes related to signal perception (nucleotide-binding, leucine-rich repeat proteins), signal transduction [mitogen-activated protein kinases signaling, salicylic acid (SA), and jasmonic acid (JA)], and plant defense (transcription factors, flavonoids, and terpenoids). The upregulation of the selected DEGs was verified by real-time quantitative PCR data analysis, performed on the resistant and susceptible genotypes. A phytohormone bioassay experiment showed a decrease in aphid population, plant mortality, and damage in the susceptible genotype when treated with JA and SA. Together, the results indicate that the set of genes, pathways, and defense compounds is involved in host plant resistance to aphids. These findings shed light on the specific role of each DEG, thus advancing our understanding of the genetic and molecular mechanisms of host plant resistance to aphids.

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PREMISE: Theories of plant-herbivore interactions hold that seedlings are more vulnerable to herbivory in warmer and more stable climates at lower elevations. Hypotheses of plant apparency, resource concentration, and resource availability have been proposed to explain variability in leaf herbivory. However, seasonal differences in the effects of these hypotheses on leaf herbivory on seedlings remain unclear. METHODS: We evaluated the three herbivory hypotheses by comparing the percentage and frequency of leaf herbivory in understory broadleaf seedlings in a subtropical forest in May (spring) and October (autumn) along an elevational gradient (290-1370 m a.s.l.). In total, we measured 2890 leaves across 696 seedlings belonging to 95 species and used beta regressions to test the effects of plant apparency (e.g., leaf area, seedling height), resource concentration (e.g., plant species diversity), and resource availability (e.g., canopy openness, soil available N and P) on leaf herbivory. RESULTS: Seedlings exhibited unimodal patterns of leaf herbivory along elevation, with drivers of leaf herbivory varying by the month. Variation in the frequency of leaf herbivory was best explained by the resource concentration hypothesis (e.g., plant species diversity) in both months, and herbivory was lower on seedlings in sites with higher plant diversity. Plant apparency hypothesis (e.g., leaf area, seedling height) was weakly supported only in spring, and the evidence for resource availability hypothesis (e.g., canopy openness, soil nutrients) was mixed. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the resource concentration hypothesis and reveals the importance of seasonal difference on understanding leaf herbivory patterns and the drivers of plant diversity in subtropical forests.

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Instead of red anthocyanins, birches synthesise colourless (to human eye), UV-absorbing flavonols during autumn senescence. To test if flavonols protect against insects, and if leaves with high or low amounts of flavonols differ in their photosynthetic functions, aphid-free and aphid-infested green and senescing birch leaves were collected from outdoor-grown trees and analysed. Photosynthetic parameters were greatly affected by the leaf chlorophyll content (i.e. the phase of senescence). Photochemical quenching and the amount of functional Photosystem I decreased linearly with chlorophyll content, while FV/FM (Photosystem II functionality) decreased strongly only at the end of senescence. Non-photochemical quenching of excitation energy (NPQ) increased towards the end of senescence. However, no significant differences in the total flavonol amounts, nor in individual flavonol species, were found between aphid-free and aphid-infested leaves, suggesting that flavonols play no role in defence against aphid herbivory. Interestingly, both green and senescing leaves with a high flavonol content showed low FV/FM values. High flavonol content slowed down PSII photoinhibition and improved recovery, but only in green leaves. Previously, we proposed that anthocyanins provide an additional sink for photosynthates at the nitrogen resorption phase during autumn senescence, and the present data may suggest that flavonol synthesis plays a similar role.

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Plants synthesise a vast array of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which serve as chemical defence and communication agents in their interactions with insect herbivores. Although nitrogen (N) is a critical resource in the production of plant metabolites, its regulatory effects on defensive VOCs remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated the effect of N content in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) on the tobacco cutworm (Spodoptera litura), a notorious agricultural pest, using biochemical and molecular experiments in combination with insect behavioural and performance analyses. We observed that on tomato leaves with different N contents, S. litura showed distinct feeding preference and growth and developmental performance. Particularly, metabolomics profiling revealed that limited N availability conferred resistance upon tomato plants to S. litura is likely associated with the biosynthesis and emission of the volatile metabolite α-humulene as a repellent. Moreover, exogenous application of α-humulene on tomato leaves elicited a significant repellent response against herbivores. Thus, our findings unravel the key factors involved in N-mediated plant defence against insect herbivores and pave the way for innovation of N management to improve the plant defence responses to facilitate pest control strategies within agroecosystems.

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BACKGROUND: The fall armyworm (FAW, Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith)) is a polyphagous agricultural pest with rapidly evolving adaptations to host plants. We found the oral secretion (OS) of FAW from different plants influences plant defense response differentially, suggesting its role in adapting to host plants. However, the protein expression profile of FAW OS respond to different plants is largely unknown. RESULTS: Here, from the mass spectrometry assay, we identified a total of 256 proteins in the OS of FAW fed on cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.), tobacco (Nicotiana benthamiana Domin), maize (Zea mays L.) and artificial diet. The FAW OS primarily comprise of 60 proteases, 32 esterases and 92 non-enzymatic proteins. It displays high plasticity across different diets. We found that more than half of the esterases are lipases which have been reported as insect elicitors to enhance plant defense response. The lipase accumulation in cotton-fed larvae was the highest, followed by maize-fed larvae. In the presence of lipase inhibitors, the enhanced induction on defense genes in wounded leaves by OS was attenuated. However, the putative effectors were most highly accumulated in the OS from FAW larvae fed on maize compared to those fed on other diets. We identified that one of them (VRLP4) reduces the OS-mediated induction on defense genes in wounded leaves. CONCLUSION: Together, our investigation presents the proteomic landscape of the OS of FAW influenced by different diets and reveals diet-mediated plasticity of OS is involved in FAW adaptation to host plants. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.

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Weed management is challenging for vegetable crops that are highly sensitive to weed competition, such as onions. Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) are major insect pests of onions, causing damage through feeding, and vectoring bacterial pathogens causing bulb rot. Both thrips and their associated pathogens are known to survive on many weed species in onion growing regions. Combining weeding with biopesticides may synergistically manage thrips and reduce disease prevalence. However, disturbances from weeding may negatively impact natural enemies. We estimated the effects of organic weed management and biopesticides on weed density, thrips and natural enemy activity, disease severity, and yield. The experiment was a randomized complete block design, with 4 replications of each weeding (control, tine-weeded twice, tine-weeded 4 times, and hand-weeded) and biopesticide (control, OxiDate 2.0, Serenade) combination. Arthropods were monitored using yellow sticky cards, and weed counts, marketable yield, and bulb rot prevalence were estimated. Hand-weeding resulted in the lowest weed density and thrips abundance. Additionally, hand-weeding produced a 9× higher yield compared to all other treatments. Significant interactions were observed between tine-weeding and biopesticide treatments on the prevalence of bulb rot. Natural enemy abundance was slightly negatively impacted by weeding, dependent on the year. DNA metabarcoding results showed high parasitoid diversity in this onion system and high numbers of reads for multiple genera containing important known biological control agents. Our study suggests hand-weeding is necessary in the southeast for maximum onion yield. Future research should focus on exploring the impact of management on natural enemy communities in onion systems on a large scale.

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Plant-insect interactions play a crucial role in shaping terrestrial ecosystems, influencing abundance and distribution of plant species. In the present study, we investigated leaf-mining patterns on fossil leaves from Pliocene strata of the Mahuadanr Valley, Jharkhand, eastern India, deposited under a seasonal tropical climate, and reported complex interactions between plants and insects. We identified 11 distinct mining morphotypes. These morphotypes were mainly found on Dipterocarpaceae, Fabaceae, Lauraceae, and Moraceae; similar mining traces were also observed in the contemporary vegetation surrounding the fossil site. Although mining richness was relatively high, only 2.6% of all leaves in the fossil assemblage were mined. We compared mining richness and abundance values with previously reported values for galling. While richness was slightly lower for galling, almost 50% of all fossil leaves were galled. A literature survey on mining and galling patterns in modern vegetation suggests that there is no global explanation for richness of mining or gall-inducing insects. Thus, low nutrient availability in the ancient forest, dominance of semideciduous leaves with hard texture, and different habitats in the same forest ecosystem, such as well-drained forests and riparian stands, may all have favored different types of specialized plant-insect interactions.

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Plant-insect interactions are a driving force into ecosystem evolution and community dynamics. Many insect herbivores enter diapause, a developmental arrest stage in anticipation of adverse conditions, to survive and thrive through seasonal changes. Herein, we investigated the roles of medium- to non-polar metabolites during larval development and diapause in a specialist insect herbivore, Chlosyne lacinia, reared on Aldama robusta leaves. Varying metabolites were determined using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)-based metabolomics. Sesquiterpenes and steroids were the main metabolites putatively identified in A. robusta leaves, whereas C. lacinia caterpillars were characterized by triterpenes, steroids, fatty acids, and long-chain alkanes. We found out that C. lacinia caterpillars biosynthesized most of the identified steroids and fatty acids from plant-derived ingested metabolites, as well as all triterpenes and long-chain alkanes. Steroids, fatty acids, and long-chain alkanes were detected across all C. lacinia instars and in diapausing caterpillars. Sesquiterpenes and triterpenes were also detected across larval development, yet they were not detected in diapausing caterpillars, which suggested that these metabolites were converted to other molecules prior to the diapause stage. Our findings shed light on the chemical content variation across C. lacinia development and diapause, providing insights into the roles of metabolites in plant-insect interactions.

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Alterations in cell wall composition imply in new structural and functional traits in gall developmental sites, even when the inducer is a sucking exophytophagous insect with strict feeding sites as the aphid associated to Malus domestica Borkh. This host plant is an economically important, fruit-bearing species, susceptible to gall induction by the sucking aphid Eriosoma lanigerum Hausmann, 1802. Herein, the immunocytochemical detection of arabinogalactan-proteins (AGPs), pectins, and hemicelluloses using monoclonal antibodies was performed in samples of non-galled roots and stems, and of root and stem galls on M. domestica. The dynamics of these cell wall components was discussed under the structural and functional traits of the galls proximal, median, and distal regions, according to the proximity of E. lanigerum colony feeding site. In the proximal region, the epitopes of AGPs and homogalacturonans (HGs) are related to cell growth and divisions, which result in the overproduction of parenchyma cells both in root and stem galls. In the proximal and median regions, the co-occurrence of HGs and arabinans in the cell walls of parenchyma and secondary tissues favors the nutrient flow and water-holding capacity, while the xylogalacturonans and hemicelluloses may function as additional carbohydrate resources to E. lanigerum. The immunocytochemical profile of the cell walls support the feeding activity of E. lanigerum mainly in the gall proximal region. The similarity of the cell wall components of the gall distal region and the non-galled portions, both in roots and stems, relates to the decrease of the cecidogenetic field the more distant the E. lanigerum colony is.

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The dried bean beetle, Acanthoscelides obtectus, is an economically important pest of stored legumes worldwide. Tracking the human-aided dispersion of its primary hosts, the Phaseolus vulgaris beans, it is now widespread in most bean-growing areas of the tropics and subtropics. In temperate regions where it can only occasionally overwinter in the field, A. obtectus proliferates in granaries, having multiple generations a year. Despite its negative impact on food production, no sensitive detection or monitoring tools exist, and the reduction of local populations still relies primarily on inorganic insecticides as fumigating agents. However, in the quest to produce more nutritious food more sustainably and healthily, the development of environmentally benign crop protection methods is vital against A. obtectus. For this, knowledge of the biology and chemistry of both the host plant and its herbivore will underpin the development of, among others, chemical ecology-based approaches to form an essential part of the toolkit of integrated bruchid management. We review the semiochemistry of the mate- and host-finding behaviour of A. obtectus and provide new information about the effect of seed chemistry on the sensory and behavioural ecology of host acceptance and larval development.

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Insects pose significant challenges in cotton-producing regions. Here, they describe a high-throughput CRISPR/Cas9-mediated large-scale mutagenesis library targeting endogenous insect-resistance-related genes in cotton. This library targeted 502 previously identified genes using 968 sgRNAs, generated ≈2000 T0 plants and achieved 97.29% genome editing with efficient heredity, reaching upto 84.78%. Several potential resistance-related mutants (10% of 200 lines) their identified that may contribute to cotton-insect molecular interaction. Among these, they selected 139 and 144 lines showing decreased resistance to pest infestation and targeting major latex-like protein 423 (GhMLP423) for in-depth study. Overexpression of GhMLP423 enhanced insect resistance by activating the plant systemic acquired resistance (SAR) of salicylic acid (SA) and pathogenesis-related (PR) genes. This activation is induced by an elevation of cytosolic calcium [Ca2+ ]cyt flux eliciting reactive oxygen species (ROS), which their demoted in GhMLP423 knockout (CR) plants. Protein-protein interaction assays revealed that GhMLP423 interacted with a human epidermal growth factor receptor substrate15 (EPS15) protein at the cell membrane. Together, they regulated the systemically propagating waves of Ca2+ and ROS, which in turn induced SAR. Collectively, this large-scale mutagenesis library provides an efficient strategy for functional genomics research of polyploid plant species and serves as a solid platform for genetic engineering of insect resistance.

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BACKGROUND: Six-spotted spider mite (Eotetranychus sexmaculatus) is one of the most damaging pests of tea (Camellia sinensis). E. sexmaculatus causes great economic loss and affects tea quality adversely. In response to pests, such as spider mites, tea plants have evolved resistance mechanisms, such as expression of defense-related genes and defense-related metabolites. RESULTS: To evaluate the biochemical and molecular mechanisms of resistance in C. sinensis against spider mites, "Tianfu-5" (resistant to E. sexmaculatus) and "Fuding Dabai" (susceptible to E. sexmaculatus) were inoculated with spider mites. Transcriptomics and metabolomics based on RNA-Seq and liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) technology were used to analyze changes in gene expression and metabolite content, respectively. RNA-Seq data analysis revealed that 246 to 3,986 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified in multiple compared groups, and these DEGs were significantly enriched in various pathways, such as phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis, plant-pathogen interactions, MAPK signaling, and plant hormone signaling. Additionally, the metabolome data detected 2,220 metabolites, with 194 to 260 differentially abundant metabolites (DAMs) identified in multiple compared groups, including phenylalanine, lignin, salicylic acid, and jasmonic acid. The combined analysis of RNA-Seq and metabolomic data indicated that phenylpropanoid and flavonoid biosynthesis, MAPK signaling, and Ca2+-mediated PR-1 signaling pathways may contribute to spider mite resistance. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings provide insights for identifying insect-induced genes and metabolites and form a basis for studies on mechanisms of host defense against spider mites in C. sinensis. The candidate genes and metabolites identified will be a valuable resource for tea breeding in response to biotic stress.

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Biodiversity keeping increases the flexibility, interaction and adaptation of different ecosystems with the environment which benefits all organisms, including humans. This diversity can be maintained through different paths including co-evolution between insects and plants. One of these unique interactions leads to the production of "Mannas" in Iran, which have biological and ethno-medicinal importance. Considering the crises of biodiversity and the rapid extinction of species, in this research, we aimed to review the latest scientific findings about mannas and their biological, medicinal and bio perspective considerations. Until August 2023, all English publications in Web of Science, Science Direct, PubMed, Google Scholar and Scopus, as well as Persian databases such as Magiran, Iranmedex, Medlib, SID were surveyed using various search terms such as manna, angabin, sweet secretions and plant-insect interference. Articles that studied manna production from plants or provided a comprehensive description of host plants and manna producing insects were included in the study. In total, out of more than 180 reviewed articles, 113 articles met the inclusion criteria and 7 known mannas (Bidkhesht, Gaz-e-Alafi, Gaz-e-Khansar, Gaz-e-Shahdad, Shirkhesht, Shekartigal, and Taranjebin) have been explained here. This review deals with different aspects of special interactions between insects and plants that lead to the production of manna and presents different uses of manna from medicinal, ethnobotanical, health, conservation and bio perspective points of view. In addition, the changes in the population of manna-breeding insects and host plants are taken into consideration and influencing factors including loss of their growth conditions and climatic conditions, animal breeding in the region, inappropriate exploitation methods and host preference phenomenon which increase the risk of destruction of these natural products have been given. These mannas cannot be produced in any way, and maintaining their production conditions requires environmental care and providing necessary training.

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Holotrichia parallela is an important plant pest. Comparative feeding experiments showed that the egg production, oviposition duration and survival rate of H. parallela beetles were significantly higher when they fed on elm leaves than when they fed on willow or purpus privet leaves. RNA sequencing was used to determine transcriptomic changes associated with oviposition. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed that the beetles that fed on elm and willow had a total of 171 genes with differential expression. When the beetles fed on elm and purpus privet, 3568 genes had differential expression. The vitellogenesis, ovarian serine protease, odorant-binding proteins, acyl-CoA synthetase and follicle cell proteins were commonly upregulated genes in elm-fed beetles compared with those fed on willow/purpus privet leaves. The involvement of the follicle cell protein 3C gene in the regulation of oviposition was confirmed using RNA interference. The results provide insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying oviposition in H. parallela feeding on different host plants. This study also describes a method for identifying potentially effective genes for pest control.

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Plant-flower visitor interaction is one of the most important relationships regarding the co-existence of the floral and faunal communities. The implication of network approaches is an efficient way to understand the impact of community structure on ecosystem functionality. To understand the association pattern of flower visitors, we performed this study on Avicennia officinalis and Avicennia marina mangroves from the islands of Indian Sundarban over three consecutive years. We found that visiting time and sites (islands) influenced the abundance of visitors. The bipartite networks showed a significant generalized structure for both site-visitor and visiting time-visitor networks where the strength and specialization of visitor species showed a highly and moderately significant positive correlation between both networks respectively. All the site-wise visiting time-visitor networks and year-wise site-visitor networks were significantly modular in structure. For both the plants, most of the visitors showed a generalized association pattern among islands and also among visiting times. Additionally, the study of the foraging behavior of dominant visitors showed Apis dorsata and Apis mellifera as the potential visitors for these plants. Our results showed that flower visitor networks are spatiotemporally dynamic. The interactions of visitors with flowers at different times influence their contribution to the network for becoming a generalist or peripheral species in the context of their visiting time, which may subsequently change over islands. This approach will help to devise more precise plant species-specific conservation strategies by understanding the contribution of visitors through the spatiotemporal context.

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Hishimonus hamatus Kuoh is a leafhopper species native to China that feeds on Chinese jujube leaves. This leafhopper species has been verified to transmit jujube witches' broom (JWB) disease, caused by phytoplasma, a fatal plant pathogen, which belongs to the phytoplasma subgroup 16SrV-B. The transmission of JWB phytoplasma largely relies on the feeding behavior of piercing-sucking leafhoppers. However, the specific mechanisms behind how and why the infection of JWB influences the feeding behavior of these leafhoppers are not fully understood. To address this, a study was conducted to compare the feeding patterns of H. hamatus when feeding JWB-infested jujube leaves to healthy leaves using the electrical penetration graph (EPG) technique. Then, a widely targeted metabolome analysis was performed to identify differences in the metabolite composition of JWB-infected jujube leaves and that of healthy jujube leaves. The results of EPG analyses revealed that when feeding on JWB-infected jujube leaves, H. hamatus exhibited an increased frequency of phloem ingestion and spent longer in the phloem feeding phase compared to when feeding on healthy leaves. In addition, the results of metabolomic analyses showed that JWB-infected leaves accumulated higher levels of small-molecular carbohydrates, free amino acids, and free fatty acids, as well as lower levels of lignans, coumarins and triterpenoids compared to healthy leaves. The above results indicated that the H. hamatus preferentially fed on the phloem of infected leaves, which seems to be linked to the transmission of the JWB phytoplasma. The results of metabolomic analyses partially imply that the chemical compounds might play a role in making the infected leaves more attractive to H. hamatus for feeding.

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Intensifying drought conditions across the western United States due to global climate change are altering plant-insect interactions. Specialist herbivores must find their host plants within a matrix of nonhosts, and thus often rely upon specific plant secondary chemistry for host location and oviposition cues. Climate-induced alterations to plant chemistry could thus affect female selection of larval food plants. Here, we investigated whether host-plant water limitation influenced oviposition preference in a threatened invertebrate: the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus). We found that females deposited more eggs on reduced-water than on well-watered narrowleaf milkweed plants (Asclepias fascicularis), but we could not attribute this change to any specific change in plant chemistry. Specialist herbivores, such as the monarch butterfly, which are tightly linked to specific plant cues, may experience shift in preferences under global-change conditions. Understanding oviposition preferences will be important to directing ongoing habitat restoration activities for this declining insect.

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