Plant-Insect Interactions 2018

Dear Colleagues,

Plant‐insect interactions is a fast-developing research-field, which continues to increase the interest of many scientists, often coming from heterogeneous backgrounds. This variety reflects the complexity and the multifaceted associations that the interaction of plants and insects may originate.

Mutualism, pollination, biotrophy boost the co-evolution of plant defenses against various insect feeding strategies, and the ability of insect to detoxify plant chemical defenses or to react specifically to plant compounds. The success of plants to withstand insect herbivory depends on their ability to quickly recognize, decipher the incoming signal, and adequately respond to a wide array of attacking herbivores. Whilst this topic has been widely investigated, less attention has been paid to how insects use plant signals for their own advantage, to detect high-quality food, to choose where to lay their eggs, or to find their preys.

Current research in plant‐insect interaction is focusing mainly on genomics and proteomics, which are late events induced by biotic stress. Early events, within the first seconds to minutes, are responsible for recognition and triggering of signal transduction pathways, preceding genomic and proteomic responses. For both plants and insects, sensing and communication are key features that can improve fitness and grant survival in contrasting environments.

This Special Issue on “Plant‐Insect Interactions” is open to all researchers studying this interaction at any level, from both the plant and the insect side. Papers are welcome as original research articles, as well as review papers dealing with the advancement and current understanding of various aspects of plant-insect interactions.

Prof. Massimo Maffei
Dr. Francesca Barbero
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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