Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Aapo Kahilainen, Vicencio Oostra, Panu Somervuo, Guillaume Minard, Marjo Saastamoinen
Summary: Predicting the effects of climate change on plant-insect herbivore interactions is challenging, with responses to water limitation-induced host plant quality change in a Glanville fritillary butterfly metapopulation showing marked variability. Intraspecific variability in plasticity suggests potential for buffering against drought-induced changes in host plant quality within the Finnish M. cinxia metapopulation.
Article
Entomology
Aramee C. Diethelm, Konnor E. Kost, Elizabeth G. Pringle
Summary: Intensifying drought conditions caused by global climate change in the western United States are changing plant-insect interactions. The monarch butterfly, a threatened invertebrate, deposited more eggs on water-limited narrowleaf milkweed plants but the change could not be attributed to specific changes in plant chemistry. Specialist herbivores like the monarch butterfly may experience preference shifts under global climate change. Understanding oviposition preferences is important for habitat restoration for this declining insect.
JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Entomology
Mostafa Hamzei, Ali Golizadeh, Mahdi Hassanpour, Seyed Ali Asghar Fathi, Zahra Abedi
Summary: This research investigates the effects of different pulse seeds on the characteristics and energy content of the cowpea beetle. It is found that the biological properties of the cowpea beetle vary significantly when fed on different legume seeds. The study also shows that there are significant correlations between the life history parameters of the cowpea beetle and the biochemical and physical traits of legume seeds.
JOURNAL OF STORED PRODUCTS RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Microbiology
A. M. Pirttila, V. Brusila, J. J. Koskimaki, P. R. Wali, A. L. Ruotsalainen, M. Mutanen, A. M. Markkola
Summary: Prokaryotic and eukaryotic microbial symbiotic communities exist across different kingdoms, extending the host genome and aiding adaptation to changing environments. Plants and insects carry a variety of microbes on their surfaces, internally, and even within cells, with the insect gut being a selective environment. Despite their high dependence and frequent interaction, it remains uncertain how much plants and insects exchange and modify each other's microbiomes. This review focuses on herbivores that feed on plants in forest ecosystems, discussing the plant microbiome, overlap with insect microbial communities, and the effects of microbiome exchange on each host's fitness.
Article
Entomology
Muhammad Yasir Ali, Tayyaba Naseem, Muhammad Arshad, Ijaz Ashraf, Muhammad Rizwan, Muhammad Tahir, Misbah Rizwan, Samy Sayed, Muhammad Irfan Ullah, Rashad Rasool Khan, Muhammad Bilal Amir, Mingzhen Pan, Tong-Xian Liu
Summary: Understanding insect-plant interactions is crucial for integrated pest management programs. In this study, the green peach aphid was found to prefer chili pepper plants over cabbage. This information is valuable for pest management strategies.
Article
Plant Sciences
Mei Luo, Bin Li, Georg Jander, Shaoqun Zhou
Summary: Non-volatile metabolites play a crucial role in plant-insect interactions, serving as both nutrients and defensive compounds. Functional genetics studies have identified receptors targeting plant non-volatile metabolites in insects, while the understanding of plant receptors for insect-derived molecules is limited. Insect feeding induces changes in plant specialized metabolism, but the effects on core metabolism vary among species. Furthermore, non-volatile metabolites can facilitate tripartite communication in plant communities through direct root-to-root communication and interactions with parasitic plants, mycorrhizae, and the rhizosphere microbiome.
Review
Genetics & Heredity
Pritam Kumari, Poonam Jasrotia, Deepak Kumar, Prem Lal Kashyap, Satish Kumar, Chandra Nath Mishra, Sudheer Kumar, Gyanendra Pratap Singh
Summary: The cost of insect pest control in agriculture is high globally, and there is a need for alternative pest management strategies. Biotechnological approaches such as gene editing, transformation, and marker-assisted selection provide new opportunities for developing insect-resistant engineered crop genotypes, improving pest management.
FRONTIERS IN GENETICS
(2022)
Review
Plant Sciences
Shaoqun Zhou, Georg Jander
Summary: Plant-derived volatile organic compounds play key roles in interactions with insect herbivores, acting as toxic or deterrent agents, signal molecules, and priming signals for plant tissues. The functions of VOC blends are strongly influenced by environmental conditions and specific plant-insect interactions. The complexity of plant-insect chemical communication via VOCs is enriched by the sophisticated molecular perception mechanisms of insects, which influence insect behavior in ways that are not fully understood.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Linyi Zhang, Briley F. Mullin, Shihan Shzu, Charles K. Davis, Elaine G. Hu, Isaac J. Carroo, Scott P. Egan
Summary: Understanding the role of divergent host-use in promoting population differentiation among herbivorous insects provides valuable insight into the origin of diversity in this species-rich group. Our study documents parallel divergence in a key phenotype of gall-forming insects associated with different host environments, shedding light on the important role of divergent host use in driving the evolution of gall morphology.
ECOLOGICAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Entomology
M. P. Ali, M. S. Rahman, Farzana Nowrin, S. S. Haque, Xinghu Qin, M. A. Haque, M. M. Uddin, Douglas A. Landis, M. T. H. Howlader
Summary: The study found that increased salinity suppressed the growth of rice cultivars and reduced the population size of brown planthoppers due to decreased plant quality. Meanwhile, the highest population density of green mirid bugs occurred under control conditions and decreased significantly with increasing salinity. Overall, higher salinity negatively affected plant-herbivore-natural enemy systems and plant-pest-predator interactions, suggesting a decline in predatory insects' effectiveness in pest suppression in saline-affected rice production areas.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Agronomy
Patrick M. Dourado, Laura M. Pantoja-Gomez, Renato J. Horikoshi, Renato A. Carvalho, Celso Omoto, Alberto S. Correa, Jae H. Kim, Samuel Martinelli, Graham P. Head
Summary: The Old-World bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera, showed higher viability on cotton, followed by other crops commonly cultivated in Brazil. Noncotton C(3)hosts were the major source of H. armigera moths in all regions, with C(4)hosts being important in regions where winter maize is cultivated. Regional differences in host use and population dynamics may be attributed to variation in alternative host utilization and the possible occurrence of facultative diapause and migration.
PEST MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Ella DeWolf, Marcus T. Brock, William John Calder, Daniel J. Kliebenstein, Ella Katz, Baohua Li, Hilary G. Morrison, Lois Maignien, Cynthia Weinig
Summary: The rhizosphere microbiome affects plant traits and plants can modulate the composition of the microbial community. Genetic variation in glucosinolate (GLS) production influences the composition of the rhizosphere microbiome. Microbial inoculation affects GLS production, but does not influence insect damage.
Review
Plant Sciences
Po-An Lin, Jessica Kansman, Wen-Po Chuang, Christelle Robert, Matthias Erb, Gary W. Felton
Summary: Water availability has a significant impact on plant-herbivore interactions. This review summarizes recent research on the effects of water availability on plant antiherbivore defense and the physiological processes involved. Water deficit tends to enhance certain defense traits but negatively affects others, and the impact of water availability on species interactions and plant evolution is discussed. However, there is a lack of study on the interactive impact of additional abiotic stressors on water-plant-herbivore interactions.
JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BOTANY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Andrea Casadesus, Sergi Munne-Bosch
Summary: Holoparasitic plants depend on other plants for nutrients and play important roles in Mediterranean ecosystems. Phytohormones are crucial in holoparasitic plant-host interactions. Studying the interaction between holoparasitic plants and hosts will help better manage parasitic plants.
Article
Plant Sciences
Markus Albert, Michael J. Axtell, Michael P. Timko
Summary: Parasitic plants pose a significant threat to plant growth and crop productivity, with some host plants evolving defense strategies to avoid infection or actively protect themselves. Current understanding of host plant defense mechanisms against parasitic plants is being reviewed, with future studies expected to contribute to the development and breeding of resistant crops.
Article
Ecology
Marina Wolz, Alia Schrader, Eileen Whitelaw, Caroline Mueller
Summary: In a laboratory study, researchers found that infection with gregarines and exposure to sublethal insecticides had negative effects on a population of leaf beetles, resulting in reduced body mass of adult males, decreased reproductive capacity of females, and delayed development. Individuals facing both challenges had the lowest survival probability, indicating significant impacts on population dynamics. Additionally, individuals exposed to sublethal insecticides had higher gregarine infection loads compared to unexposed individuals, suggesting a potential role for natural parasite infections in modulating insect responses to environmental factors.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Ann-Cathrin Voss, Elisabeth J. Eilers, Caroline Muller
Summary: Numerous pesticides are applied to crop plants annually, including fungicides, which may affect plant metabolism and crop quality. This study investigated the effects of two fungicides on the metabolism of strawberry cultivars and wild strawberries, specifically focusing on primary and specialized metabolites that contribute to fruit flavor. The fungicide treatment significantly impacted several metabolites, indicating potential changes in taste and quality of strawberries when treated with fungicides.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Lai Ka Lo, R. Reshma, Lisa Johanna Tewes, Barbara Milutinovic, Caroline Mueller, Joachim Kurtz
Summary: Group-living individuals face high risks of disease transmission and parasite infection. Research has found that in social and some non-social insects, immune control is achieved not only through individual immune defenses, but also through infochemicals such as contact cues and defensive volatiles, which help mount a group-level immunity. However, it is still not well understood whether activation of the immune system leads to changes in chemical phenotypes that mediate these responses.
JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Martin Aguirrebengoa, Caroline Mueller, Peter A. Hamback, Adela Gonzalez-Megias
Summary: Plants have to regulate their responses to multiple herbivores to deal with a wide range of threats. In particular, they often face simultaneous root and floral herbivory, but few studies have focused on this interaction. This study investigated the combined density-dependent effects of root-chewing beetle larvae and flower-chewing caterpillars on the fitness and defense of a semiarid Brassicaceae herb. The results showed that the impact of both herbivore groups on plant fitness was independent and density-dependent. Increasing root herbivore density had a non-significant effect on plant fitness, while increasing floral herbivore density had a non-linear negative effect on seed number and seedling emergence. Plant defensive response was non-additive and varied with the densities of root and floral herbivores, showing compensatory investment in reproduction at high floral herbivore density and aboveground chemical defense induction at high root herbivore density.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rohit Sasidharan, Robert R. Junker, Elisabeth J. Eilers, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Plants use floral displays to attract mutually beneficial organisms and deter attackers. These displays include attractive or repellent floral volatile organic compounds (FVOCs) that can be detected from a distance. Locally, visitors perceive contact chemicals including nutrients and deterrent or toxic constituents of pollen and nectar. This review examines the composition of FVOCs and non-volatile floral chemicals, such as pollen nutrients and toxins, and their effects on insect detection and behavior. The study finds that florivores can detect more FVOCs than pollinators, and frequently tested FVOCs are often reported as attractive to pollinators and repellent to florivores.
Article
Microbiology
Paul Gaube, Polina Marchenko, Caroline Mueller, Rabea Schweiger, Raimund Tenhaken, Alexander Keller, Robert R. Junker
Summary: Microbes associated with flowers and leaves affect plant health and fitness and modify the chemical phenotypes of plants with consequences for interactions of plants with their environment. However, the drivers of bacterial communities colonizing above-ground parts of grassland plants in the field remain largely unknown.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2023)
Editorial Material
Plant Sciences
Rocky Putra, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Some plant species can tolerate and accumulate high levels of metals or metalloids in their tissues as a defense mechanism. These plants also synthesize specialized metabolites that act as organic defenses. The variation in the composition and concentration of these metabolites, known as chemodiversity, has received little attention in the elemental defense hypothesis.
Article
Plant Sciences
Rabea Schweiger, Alena-Maria Maidel, Tilo Renziehausen, Romy Schmidt-Schippers, Caroline Mueller
Summary: With changes in climate, the frequency of drought-waterlogging-redrying cycles will increase. This study investigated the effects of these cycles on wheat plants, focusing on biomass, photosynthesis, metabolites, and gene expression. The results showed that drought and waterlogging significantly reduced plant biomass. Transcript analysis revealed different gene expression patterns in response to these stressors. The findings provide insights into how wheat plants cope with changes in water regimes.
PHYSIOLOGIA PLANTARUM
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Dominik Ziaja, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Some plant species exhibit a high diversity in phytochemicals, which may contribute to their defense against herbivory. However, it is unclear whether individual plant's resistance to herbivores is determined by its own chemodiversity or by the chemodiversity of nearby plants. To investigate this, the researchers studied the role of chemodiversity in the interaction between Tanacetum vulgare plants and aphids.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Correction
Ecology
Jeanne Friedrichs, Rabea Schweiger, Svenja Geisler, Judith M. Neumann, Sullivan J. M. Sadzik, Karsten Niehaus, Caroline Mueller
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Pragya Singh, Jonas Wolthaus, Holger Schielzeth, Caroline Mueller
Summary: State variables, such as body condition, have an impact on behavioural traits. The effect of starvation on behaviour varies across different life stages. Starvation in larvae led to shorter postcontact immobility duration and higher activity levels, while starved adults were less active. Behavioural repeatability was found in both life stages, but starvation did not have a significant effect on the estimates.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rocky Putra, Max Toelle, Ute Kraemer, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Soil pollution by metals and metalloids due to industrialization has a detrimental effect on ecosystems. Certain plant species called hyperaccumulators can accumulate high concentrations of these metals and metalloids in their aboveground tissues, acting as a defense against various antagonists. This study investigates the effects of metal(loid)s on defense traits in the hyperaccumulator plant species Arabidopsis halleri by artificially amending the soil with cadmium and zinc, and supplementing with silicon. The results show significant effects of metal amendment and silicon supplementation on foliar concentrations of certain elements, as well as on organic and mechanical defenses.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Thomas Dussarrat, Rabea Schweiger, Dominik Ziaja, Thuan T. N. Nguyen, Liv Krause, Ruth Jakobs, Elisabeth J. Eilers, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Intraspecific plant chemodiversity plays a crucial role in plant-environment interactions. Chemotypes can be defined based on the variation in dominant specialized metabolites. Maternal origin is found to be a higher source of chemical variation than chemotype. Computational models incorporating inherited variation in key terpenoids and other metabolites can help connect chemodiversity and evolutionary principles.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2023)
Article
Endocrinology & Metabolism
Silvia Eckert, Elisabeth J. Eilers, Ruth Jakobs, Redouan Adam Anaia, Kruthika Sen Aragam, Tanja Bloss, Moritz Popp, Rohit Sasidharan, Joerg-Peter Schnitzler, Florian Stein, Anke Steppuhn, Sybille B. Unsicker, Nicole M. van Dam, Sol Yepes, Dominik Ziaja, Caroline Mueller
Summary: In this study, the reproducibility of VOC collections and analyses was investigated in a ring trial involving five laboratories. The results showed that despite efforts to standardize each VOC measurement step, there were still differences in the outcomes both qualitatively and quantitatively. These findings reveal sources of variation in plant VOC research and can help avoid systematic errors in similar experiments.
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Ann-Cathrin Voss, Elisabeth J. Eilers, Caroline Mueller
Summary: Numerous pesticides, including fungicides, are applied every year to crop plants, which may affect plant metabolism and thus crop quality. The present study tested the effects of two fungicides on the metabolism of two cultivars and the wild strawberry, focusing on primary and specialized metabolites that determine fruit flavor. The fungicide treatment significantly affected a number of metabolites, indicating potential changes in taste and quality of strawberries.
JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY
(2023)