scholarly journals Plant defenses interact with insect enteric bacteria by initiating a leaky gut syndrome

2019 ◽  
Vol 116 (32) ◽  
pp. 15991-15996 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles J. Mason ◽  
Swayamjit Ray ◽  
Ikkei Shikano ◽  
Michelle Peiffer ◽  
Asher G. Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Plant Defenses ◽  
Fall Armyworm ◽  
Enteric Bacteria ◽  
Gut Bacteria ◽  
Chemical Defenses ◽  
Community Influence ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
Insect Interactions ◽  
Insect Gut ◽  
Physical And Chemical

Plants produce suites of defenses that can collectively deter and reduce herbivory. Many defenses target the insect digestive system, with some altering the protective peritrophic matrix (PM) and causing increased permeability. The PM is responsible for multiple digestive functions, including reducing infections from potential pathogenic microbes. In our study, we developed axenic and gnotobiotic methods for fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) and tested how particular members present in the gut community influence interactions with plant defenses that can alter PM permeability. We observed interactions between gut bacteria with plant resistance. Axenic insects grew more but displayed lower immune-based responses compared with those possessing Enterococcus, Klebsiella, and Enterobacter isolates from field-collected larvae. While gut bacteria reduced performance of larvae fed on plants, none of the isolates produced mortality when injected directly into the hemocoel. Our results strongly suggest that plant physical and chemical defenses not only act directly upon the insect, but also have some interplay with the herbivore’s microbiome. Combined direct and indirect, microbe-mediated assaults by maize defenses on the fall armyworm on the insect digestive and immune system reduced growth and elevated mortality in these insects. These results imply that plant–insect interactions should be considered in the context of potential mediation by the insect gut microbiome.

scholarly journals Phenotypic plasticity in plant defense across life stages: Inducibility, transgenerational induction, and transgenerational priming in wild radish

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (33) ◽  
pp. e2005865118
Author(s):  
Mar Sobral ◽  
Luis Sampedro ◽  
Isabelle Neylan ◽  
David Siemens ◽  
Rodolfo Dirzo
Keyword(s):  
Plant Defenses ◽  
Chemical Defenses ◽  
Life Stages ◽  
Wild Radish ◽  
Transgenerational Plasticity ◽  
Genome Methylation ◽  
Physical Defenses ◽  
Defense Induction ◽  
Mother Plants ◽  
Physical And Chemical

As they develop, many plants deploy shifts in antiherbivore defense allocation due to changing costs and benefits of their defensive traits. Plant defenses are known to be primed or directly induced by herbivore damage within generations and across generations by long-lasting epigenetic mechanisms. However, little is known about the differences between life stages of epigenetically inducible defensive traits across generations. To help fill this knowledge gap, we conducted a multigenerational experiment to determine whether defense induction in wild radish plants was reflected in chromatin modifications (DNA methylation); we then examined differences between seedlings and reproductive plants in current and transgenerational plasticity in chemical (glucosinolates) and physical (trichomes) defenses in this species. Herbivory triggered genome methylation both in targeted plants and their offspring. Within one generation, both defenses were highly inducible at the seedling stage, but only chemical defenses were inducible in reproductive plants. Across generations, herbivory experienced by mother plants caused strong direct induction of physical defenses in their progeny, with effects lasting from seedling to reproductive stages. For chemical defenses, however, this transgenerational induction was evident only in adults. Transgenerational priming was observed in physical and chemical defenses, particularly in adult plants. Our results show that transgenerational plasticity in plant defenses in response to herbivore offense differs for physical and chemical defense and changes across plant life stages.

scholarly journals Parasitoid Causes Cascading Effects on Plant-Induced Defenses Mediated Through the Gut Bacteria of Host Caterpillars

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jie Wang ◽  
Charles J. Mason ◽  
Xueyang Ju ◽  
Rongrong Xue ◽  
Lu Tong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fall Armyworm ◽  
Defense Responses ◽  
Gut Bacteria ◽  
Trophic Levels ◽  
Cotesia Marginiventris ◽  
Cascading Effects ◽  
Host Immune Responses ◽  
Maize Plants ◽  
Insect Gut ◽  
Insect Gut Bacteria

Koinobiont endoparasitoid wasps whose larvae develop inside a host insect alter several important facets of host physiology, potentially causing cascading effects across multiple trophic levels. For instance, the hijacking of the host immune responses may have effects on how insects interact with host plants and microbial associates. However, the parasitoid regulation of insect–plant–microbiome interactions is still understudied. In this study, we used the fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda, and the braconid parasitoid Cotesia marginiventris to evaluate impacts of parasitism on the gut microbiome of FAW larvae, and respective maize plant defense responses. The level of reactive oxygen species and the microbial community in larval gut underwent significant changes in response to parasitism, leading to a significant reduction of Enterococcus, while elevating the relative abundance of Pseudomonas. FAW with parasitism had lower glucose oxidase (GOX) activity in salivary glands and triggered lower defense responses in maize plants. These changes corresponded to effects on plants, as Pseudomonas inoculated larvae had lower activity of salivary GOX and triggered lower defense responses in maize plants. Our results demonstrated that parasitism had cascading effects on microbial associates across trophic levels and also highlighted that insect gut bacteria may contribute to complex interrelationships among parasitoids, herbivores, and plants.

Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 723-729
Author(s):  
Roslyn Gleadow ◽  
Jim Hanan ◽  
Alan Dorin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Computer Simulation ◽  
Food Security ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
Native Habitat ◽  
Insect Pollinators ◽  
Insect Interactions

Food security and the sustainability of native ecosystems depends on plant-insect interactions in countless ways. Recently reported rapid and immense declines in insect numbers due to climate change, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the introduction of agricultural monocultures, and the destruction of insect native habitat, are all potential contributors to this grave situation. Some researchers are working towards a future where natural insect pollinators might be replaced with free-flying robotic bees, an ecologically problematic proposal. We argue instead that creating environments that are friendly to bees and exploring the use of other species for pollination and bio-control, particularly in non-European countries, are more ecologically sound approaches. The computer simulation of insect-plant interactions is a far more measured application of technology that may assist in managing, or averting, ‘Insect Armageddon' from both practical and ethical viewpoints.

scholarly journals Plant Metabolites Involved in the Differential Development of a Heliantheae-Specialist Insect

Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Marília Elias Gallon ◽  
Leonardo Gobbo-Neto
Keyword(s):  
Larval Development ◽  
Sesquiterpene Lactones ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
Plant Metabolites ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
Tridax Procumbens ◽  
Integrative Studies ◽  
Specialist Insect ◽  
Insect Interactions ◽  
New Research

Balanced nutritional intake is essential to ensure that insects undergo adequate larval development and metamorphosis. Integrative multidisciplinary approaches have contributed valuable insights regarding the ecological and evolutionary outcomes of plant–insect interactions. To address the plant metabolites involved in the larval development of a specialist insect, we investigated the development of Chlosyne lacinia caterpillars fed on Heliantheae species (Tithonia diversifolia, Tridax procumbens and Aldama robusta) leaves and determined the chemical profile of plants and insects using a metabolomic approach. By means of LC-MS and GC-MS combined analyses, 51 metabolites were putatively identified in Heliantheae species and C. lacinia caterpillars and frass; these metabolites included flavonoids, sesquiterpene lactones, monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenes, triterpenes, oxygenated terpene derivatives, steroids and lipid derivatives. The leading discriminant metabolites were diterpenes, which were detected only in A. robusta leaves and insects that were fed on this plant-based diet. Additionally, caterpillars fed on A. robusta leaves took longer to complete their development to the adult phase and exhibited a greater diapause rate. Hence, we hypothesized that diterpenes may be involved in the differential larval development. Our findings shed light on the plant metabolites that play roles in insect development and metabolism, opening new research avenues for integrative studies of insect nutritional ecology.

Livestock grazing disrupts plant-insect interactions on salt marshes

2017 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 152-161 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corinna Rickert ◽  
Andreas Fichtner ◽  
Roel van Klink
Keyword(s):  
Salt Marshes ◽  
Livestock Grazing ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
Insect Interactions
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