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New Insights into Plant and Insect Interactions (Second Edition)
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New Insights into Plant and Insect Interactions (Second Edition)

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: 20 October 2025 | Viewed by 2617

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Yonggen Lou

E-Mail Website
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
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

Manuscript Submission Information

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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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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

18 pages, 2847 KiB  
Article
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 179
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 [...] Read more.
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 KiB  
Article
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
Viewed by 831
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 [...] Read more.
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 KiB  
Article
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
Viewed by 1016
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. [...] Read more.
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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