Project description:To explore the molecular mechanisms underlying the rice plant-mediated interaction between brown planthopper (BPH) and striped stem borer (SSB), gene expression changes in rice plant response to infestation by SSB, BPH or both and control were analyzed by RNA-seq.
Project description:Tomato plants are submitted to a high diversity of herbivory pests, among them the leafminer Tuta absoluta, considered as one of the most important threat on the tomato worldwide production. In spite of its susceptibility to this pest, a better understanding of the tomato plant response to T. absoluta herbivory will help defining plant resistance traits and enlarging the range of possibilities for an efficient integrated pest management strategy. We analyzed the transcriptomic response in leaves of tomato (cv. Better Bush) submitted to the herbivory of T. absoluta larvae after 5h and 24h.
Project description:UV-B radiation regulates numerous morphogenic, biochemical and physiological responses in plants, and can stimulate some responses typically associated with other abiotic and biotic stimuli, including invertebrate herbivory. Removal of UV-B from the growing environment of various plant species has been found to increase their susceptibility to consumption by invertebrate pests, however, to date, little research has been conducted to investigate the effects of UV-B on crop susceptibility to field pests. Here, we report findings from a multi-omic and genetic-based study investigating the mechanisms of UV-B-stimulated resistance of the crop, Brassica napus (oilseed rape), to herbivory from an economically important lepidopteran specialist of the Brassicaceae, Plutella xylostella (diamondback moth). The UV-B photoreceptor, UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 (UVR8), was not found to mediate resistance to this pest. RNA-Seq and untargeted metabolomics identified components of the sinapate/lignin biosynthetic pathway that were similarly regulated by UV-B and herbivory. Arabidopsis mutants in genes encoding two enzymes in the sinapate/lignin biosynthetic pathway, CAFFEATE O-METHYLTRANSFERASE 1 (COMT1) and ELICITOR-ACTIVATED GENE 3-2 (ELI3-2), retained UV-B-mediated resistance to P. xylostella herbivory. However, overexpression of B. napus COMT1 in Arabidopsis further reduced plant susceptibility to P. xylostella herbivory in a UV-B-dependent manner. These findings demonstrate that overexpression of a component of the sinapate/lignin biosynthetic pathway in a member of the Brassicaceae can enhance UV-B-stimulated resistance to herbivory from P. xylostella.
Project description:In this experiment we aimed to decipher the transcription response of rice to the different cues of an herbivory attack from the chewing caterpillar Spodoptera frugiperda. We performed a herbivory mimic procedure on seedlings and applied mechanical wounding (WOS), application of herbivore oral secretions (OS) after wounding (WOS+) and dysbiotic OS (WOS-) on rice leaves. RNA was extracted from control and treated leaves after two hours. 5 biological replicates corresponding to 5 pooled leaves were performed for each of the four condition
Project description:The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is one of the most significant mite pests in agriculture that can feed on more than 1,100 plant hosts, including model plants Arabidopsis thaliana and tomato, Solanum lycopersicum. In order to refine the involvement of jasmonic acid (JA) in mite-induced responses, we analyzed transcriptional changes in tomato JA signaling mutant defenseless1 (def-1) upon JA treatment and spider mite herbivory. We used microarray to assess global gene expression in Solanum lycopersicum def-1 cv. Castlemart upon jasmonic acid treatment and Tetranychus urticae attack.
Project description:Plants are attacked by diverse herbivores and respond with manifold defense responses. To study transcriptional and other early regulation events of these plant responses, herbivory is often mimicked to standardize the temporal and spatial dynamics that vary tremendously for natural herbivory. Yet to what extent such mimics of herbivory are able to elicit the same plant response as real herbivory remains largely undetermined. We examined the transcriptional response of a new model plant to herbivory by a lepidopteran larva and to a commonly used herbivory mimic by applying the larvae’s oral secretions to standardized wounds. We designed a microarray for Solanum dulcamara and showed that the transcriptional response to real and to simulated herbivory by Spodoptera exigua overlapped moderately by about 40%. Interestingly, certain responses were mimicked better than others; 60% of the genes up-regulated but not even a quarter of the genes down-regulated by herbivory were similarly affected by application of oral secretions to wounds. While the regulation of genes involved in signaling, defense and water stress were mirrored well by the herbivory mimic, most of the genes related to photosynthesis, carbohydrate- and lipid metabolism were exclusively regulated by real herbivory. Thus, wounding and elicitor application decently mimics herbivory-induced defense responses but likely not the re-allocation of primary metabolites induced by real herbivory.
Project description:The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is one of the most significant mite pests in agriculture that can feed on more than 1,100 plant hosts, including model plants Arabidopsis thaliana and tomato, Solanum lycopersicum. In order to refine the involvement of jasmonic acid (JA) in mite-induced responses, we analyzed transcriptional changes in tomato JA signaling mutant defenseless1 (def-1) upon JA treatment and spider mite herbivory. We used microarray to assess global gene expression in Solanum lycopersicum def-1 cv. Castlemart upon jasmonic acid treatment and Tetranychus urticae attack. 1 month old def-1 tomato plants were subjected to Tetranychus urticae attack through application of 100 adult mites on a terminal leaflet of leaf 3 for 24 h or plants were sprayed with 1 mM jasmonic acid solution.
Project description:<p>UV-B radiation regulates numerous morphogenic, biochemical and physiological responses in plants, and can stimulate some responses typically associated with other abiotic and biotic stimuli, including invertebrate herbivory. Removal of UV-B from the growing environment of various plant species has been found to increase their susceptibility to consumption by invertebrate pests, however, to date, little research has been conducted to investigate the effects of UV-B on crop susceptibility to field pests. Here, we report findings from a multi-omic and genetic-based study investigating the mechanisms of UV-B-stimulated resistance of the crop, <em>Brassica napus</em> (oilseed rape), to herbivory from an economically important lepidopteran specialist of the <em>Brassicaceae</em>, <em>Plutella xylostella</em> (diamondback moth). The UV-B photoreceptor, UV RESISTANCE LOCUS 8 (UVR8), was not found to mediate resistance to this pest. RNA-Seq and untargeted metabolomics identified components of the sinapate/lignin biosynthetic pathway that were similarly regulated by UV-B and herbivory. Arabidopsis mutants in genes encoding two enzymes in the sinapate/lignin biosynthetic pathway, CAFFEATE O-METHYLTRANSFERASE 1 (COMT1) and ELICITOR-ACTIVATED GENE 3-2 (ELI3-2), retained UV-B-mediated resistance to <em>P. xylostella</em> herbivory. However, the overexpression of <em>B. napus</em> COMT1 in <em>Arabidopsis</em> further reduced plant susceptibility to <em>P. xylostella</em> herbivory in a UV-B-dependent manner. These findings demonstrate that overexpression of a component of the sinapate/lignin biosynthetic pathway in a member of the <em>Brassicaceae</em> can enhance UV-B-stimulated resistance to herbivory from <em>P. xylostella</em>.</p>
Project description:While pathogen-induced immunity is comparatively well characterized, far less is known about plant defense responses to arthropod herbivores. To date, most molecular-genetic studies of plant-arthropod interactions have focused on insects. However, plant-feeding (phytophagous) mites are also pests of diverse plants, and mites induce different patterns of damage to plant tissues than do well-studied insects (e.g., Lepidopteran larvae or aphids). The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is among the most significant mite pests in agriculture. T. urticae is an extreme generalist that has been documented on a staggering number of plant hosts (more than 1,100), and is renowned for the rapid evolution of pesticide resistance. To understand reciprocal interactions between T. urticae and a plant host at the molecular level, we examined mite herbivory using Arabidopsis thaliana. Despite differences in feeding guilds, we found that transcriptional responses of A. thaliana to mite herbivory generally resembled those observed for insect herbivores. In particular, defense to mites was mediated by jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis and signaling. Further, indole glucosinolates dramatically increased mite mortality and development times. Variation in both basal and activated levels of these defense pathways might also explain differences in mite damage and feeding success between A. thaliana accessions. On the herbivore side, a diverse set of genes associated with detoxification of xenobiotics was induced upon exposure to increasing levels of in planta indole glucosinolates. Our findings provide molecular insights into the nature of, and response to, herbivory for a representative of a major class of arthropod herbivores. We used microarray to assess global gene expresion in Arabidopsis thaliana upon Tetranychus urticae attack in two A. thaliana accessions: Bla-2, resistant to spider mite herbivory and Kon, susceptible to spider mite herbivory. 3 week old Arabidopsis thaliana plants were subjected to Tetranychus urticae attack through application of 10 mites for various periods of time (timecourse scenario) or hundreds of mites for 1 hour (feeding site scenario).