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New Insights into Plant and Insect Interactions (Second Edition)

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A special issue of International Journal of Molecular Sciences (ISSN 1422-0067). This special issue belongs to the section "Molecular Plant Sciences".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 October 2025) | Viewed by 5541

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Prof. Dr. Yonggen Lou

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Guest Editor

Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China
Interests: insect–plant interactions; herbivore-induced plant defense; defense-related signaling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Prof. Dr. Xiaoling Sun

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Key Laboratory of Biology, Genetics and Breeding of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Tea Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310008, China
Interests: tea tree; herbivores; tea tree resistance; tea tree breeding; tea tree protection
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

To protect themselves from herbivorous insects, plants have developed sophisticated defense mechanisms. When attacked by herbivorous insects, plants promptly and specifically perceive damage- and insect-associated molecular patterns via pattern recognition receptor complexes and then activate multiple signaling pathways, such as pathways mediated by mitogen-activated protein kinase cascades, jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, abscisic acid, and ethylene. These activated pathways enhance the expression of defensive genes and the production of defensive compounds, thereby increasing the direct and indirect resistance of plants to insects. On the other hand, adapted herbivorous insects can detoxify or tolerate plant toxins via specific detoxification systems and secrete effectors into plants to suppress the defensive responses in plants or enhance plant susceptibility. Deciphering the mechanisms underlying insect–plant interactions is very important for sustainable management of insect pests. This Special Issue welcomes original research and review articles that present recent advances in this field, with a focus on the molecular mechanisms related to plant defensive response, insect elicitors and effectors, and insect detoxification. We expect to publish 18 to 20 research articles and review articles in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Yonggen Lou
Dr. Xiaoling Sun
Guest Editors

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Keywords

plant defense responses
elicitors
effectors
defense-related signaling
insect–plant interactions
tritrophic interactions
detoxification
defensive compounds
defensive genes

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Research

15 pages, 2833 KB

Open AccessArticle

Transgenerational and Molecular Responses to Lanthanum Exposure in a Spodoptera littoralis-Brassica rapa System

by Cong van Doan, Sara Bonzano and Massimo E. Maffei

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(17), 8462; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26178462 - 30 Aug 2025

Viewed by 491

Abstract

The widespread use of rare earth elements (REEs) in agriculture, particularly Lanthanum (La), raises concerns about their ecological impact on non-target organisms. We investigated the direct and indirect effects of La on the insect pest Spodoptera littoralis and its host plant, Brassica rapa. Direct exposure to La-supplemented diets reduced larval growth, survival, and egg production. Interestingly, a transgenerational effect was observed, where larvae from La-exposed parents exhibited increased resilience, showing no performance reduction on the same diets. Indirectly, La accumulation in plants mediated a hormetic response in herbivores, increasing larval weight at low concentrations but reducing it at high concentrations, while modulating their oxidative stress and detoxification gene expression. From the plant perspective, La exposure amplified herbivory-induced calcium signalling and altered the expression of key genes related to calcium and reactive oxygen species pathways. These findings reveal the complex ecological risks of La accumulation in agroecosystems, affecting both plants and insects directly and through novel transgenerational effects. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Plant and Insect Interactions (Second Edition))

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23 pages, 2655 KB

Open AccessArticle

Ribosomal RNA-Specific Antisense DNA and Double-Stranded DNA Trigger rRNA Biogenesis and Insecticidal Effects on the Insect Pest Coccus hesperidum

by Vol Oberemok, Nikita Gal’chinsky, Ilya Novikov, Alexander Sharmagiy, Ekaterina Yatskova, Ekaterina Laikova and Yuri Plugatar

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(15), 7530; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26157530 - 4 Aug 2025

Viewed by 886

Abstract

Contact unmodified antisense DNA biotechnology (CUADb), developed in 2008, employs short antisense DNA oligonucleotides (oligos) as a novel approach to insect pest control. These oligonucleotide-based insecticides target pest mature rRNAs and/or pre-rRNAs and have demonstrated high insecticidal efficacy, particularly against sap-feeding insect pests, which are key vectors of plant DNA viruses and among the most economically damaging herbivorous insects. To further explore the potential of CUADb, this study evaluated the insecticidal efficacy of short 11-mer antisense DNA oligos against Coccus hesperidum, in comparison with long 56-mer single-stranded and double-stranded DNA sequences. The short oligos exhibited higher insecticidal activity. By day 9, the highest mortality rate (97.66 ± 4.04%) was recorded in the Coccus-11 group, while the most effective long sequence was the double-stranded DNA in the dsCoccus-56 group (77.09 ± 6.24%). This study also describes the architecture of the DNA containment (DNAc) mechanism, highlighting the intricate interactions between rRNAs and various types of DNA oligos. During DNAc, the Coccus-11 treatment induced enhanced ribosome biogenesis and ATP production through a metabolic shift from carbohydrates to lipid-based energy synthesis. However, this ultimately led to a ‘kinase disaster’ due to widespread kinase downregulation resulting from insufficient ATP levels. All DNA oligos with high or moderate complementarity to target rRNA initiated hypercompensation, but subsequent substantial rRNA degradation and insect mortality occurred only when the oligo sequence perfectly matched the rRNA. Both short and long oligonucleotide insecticide treatments led to a 3.75–4.25-fold decrease in rRNA levels following hypercompensation, which was likely mediated by a DNA-guided rRNase, such as RNase H1, while crucial enzymes of RNAi (DICER1, Argonaute 2, and DROSHA) were downregulated, indicating fundamental difference in molecular mechanisms of DNAc and RNAi. Consistently, significant upregulation of RNase H1 was detected in the Coccus-11 treatment group. In contrast, treatment with random DNA oligos resulted in only a 2–3-fold rRNA decrease, consistent with the normal rRNA half-life maintained by general ribonucleases. These findings reveal a fundamental new mechanism of rRNA regulation via complementary binding between exogenous unmodified antisense DNA and cellular rRNA. From a practical perspective, this minimalist approach, applying short antisense DNA dissolved in water, offers an effective, eco-friendly and innovative solution for managing sternorrhynchans and other insect pests. The results introduce a promising new concept in crop protection: DNA-programmable insect pest control. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Plant and Insect Interactions (Second Edition))

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18 pages, 2847 KB

Open AccessArticle

Comparative Analysis of Transcriptome Data of Wings from Different Developmental Stages of the Gynaephora qinghaiensis

by Guixiang Kou, Yuantao Zhou, Haibing Han, Zhanling Liu, Youpeng Lai and Shujing Gao

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(8), 3562; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26083562 - 10 Apr 2025

Viewed by 566

Abstract

Gynaephora qinghaiensis is a major pest in the alpine meadow regions of China. While the females are unable to fly, the males can fly and cause widespread damage. The aim of this study was to use transcriptome analysis to identify and verify genes expressed at different developmental stages of Gynaephora qinghaiensis, with particular emphasis on genes associated with wing development. High-throughput sequencing was performed on an Illumina HiSeqTM2000 platform to assess transcriptomic differences in the wings of male and female pupa and male and female adults of Gynaephora qinghaiensis, and the expression levels of the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were verified by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR). A total of 60,536 unigenes were identified from the transcriptome data, and 25,162 unigenes were obtained from a comparison with four major databases. Further analysis identified 18 DEGs associated with wing development in Gynaephora qinghaiensis. RT-qPCR verification of the expression levels showed consistency with the RNA sequencing results. Spatio-temporal expression profiling of the 18 genes indicated different levels of expression in the thoraces of male and female pupa, as well as between the wing buds of adult females and the wings of adult males. GO annotation analysis showed that the DEGs were associated with similar categories with no significant enrichment and were involved in cellular processes, cellular anatomical entities, and binding. KEGG analysis indicated that the DEGs were associated with endocytosis and metabolic pathways. The results of this study expand the information on genes associated with Gynaephora qinghaiensis wing development and provide support for further investigations of wing development at the molecular level. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Plant and Insect Interactions (Second Edition))

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15 pages, 3013 KB

Open AccessArticle

A B-Box (BBX) Transcription Factor from Cucumber, CsCOL9 Positively Regulates Resistance of Host Plant to Bemisia tabaci

by Shuixiang Xie, Baozheng Shi, Mengzhen Miao, Chenchen Zhao, Rune Bai, Fengming Yan and Caiyan Lei

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(1), 324; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26010324 - 2 Jan 2025

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1236

Abstract

B-box (BBX) transcription factors play crucial roles in plant growth, development, and defense responses to biotic and abiotic stresses. In this study, we cloned a BBX transcription factor gene, CsCOL9I, from cucumber and analyzed its role in the plant’s defense against the feeding of Bemisia tabaci. CsCOL9 is expressed throughout all developmental stages in cucumber, with the highest expression in the leaves. CsCOL9 is induced by B. tabaci feeding, salicylic acid (SA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂). Cucumber plants with CsCOL9 silence (TRV2-CsCOL9) and overexpression (1301-CsCOL9) were obtained and analyzed. After CsCOL9 silencing, survival rates and host selectivity for B. tabaci increased; however, the expression levels of genes encoding enzymes (CsSOD, CsRBOH, CsPOD), activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD), and content of H₂O₂ in plants were all reduced. CsCOL9 overexpression led to decreased survival rates and host selectivity for B. tabaci. Conversely, the expression levels of genes (CsSOD, CsRBOH and CsPOD), activities of SOD and POD, and content of H₂O₂ increased after CsCOL9 overexpression in plants. Collectively, our results demonstrate CsCOL9 positively regulates cucumber resistance to B. tabaci by activating reactive oxygen species bursts. This study lays a theoretical foundation for the application of CsCOL9 in cucumber resistance breeding and green pest control of B. tabaci. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Plant and Insect Interactions (Second Edition))

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17 pages, 4965 KB

Open AccessArticle

A Cytosolic Phosphoglucose Isomerase, OsPGI1c, Enhances Plant Growth and Herbivore Resistance in Rice

by Lin Chen, Peng Kuai, Jing Lu, Leilei Li and Yonggen Lou

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2025, 26(1), 169; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms26010169 - 28 Dec 2024

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1544

Abstract

Glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (PGI), a key enzyme that catalyzes the reversible conversion of glucose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate, plays an important role in plant growth, development, and responses to abiotic stresses and pathogen infections. However, whether and how PGI modulates herbivore-induced plant defenses remain largely unknown. The Brown planthopper (BPH, Nilaparvata lugens) is a devastating insect pest of rice, causing significant damage to rice plants through feeding, oviposition, and disease transmission, resulting in great yield losses. Here, we isolated a rice cytosolic PGI gene, OsPGI1c, which is ubiquitously expressed in rice plants; the highest transcript levels are found in leaves, outer leaf sheaths, and seeds. The expression of OsPGI1c was induced by infestation by gravid females of the BPH, mechanical wounding, and treatment with jasmonic acid (JA). Overexpressing OsPGI1c in rice (oePGI) enhanced both the masses of plant shoots and roots and basal levels of trehalose; however, when infested by gravid BPH females for 2 days, trehalose levels were significantly lower in oePGI plants than in wild-type (WT) plants. Additionally, the overexpression of OsPGI1c increased the BPH-induced levels of JA, jasmonoyl-L-isoleucine, and abscisic acid, but decreased the levels of ethylene and H₂O₂. Bioassays revealed that gravid BPH females preferred WT plants over oePGI plants for laying eggs; moreover, BPH eggs exhibited lower hatching rates and required longer developmental durations on oePGI plants than WT plants. These results indicate that OsPGI1c positively modulates both rice growth and BPH resistance. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Insights into Plant and Insect Interactions (Second Edition))

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