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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2026

Adaptation to Plant Defence in an Agricultural Insect Pest: Integrating Genome Scans and Gene Expression in the Soybean Aphid Reveals Multi-Genic Pathways.

In agroecosystems, intense selection pressures cause species to adapt and spread, often leading to the evolution and persistence of pests. Understanding how pests rapidly adapt can help develop sustainable strategies for their management and improve agroecosystem health. Pest adaptation involves stable variations in DNA sequence, as well as dynamic shifts in gene expression, often mediated by non-coding regulatory elements. We examined adaptation to plant defences in the soybean aphid, Aphis glycines, in which virulent aphids have overcome plant defences and avirulent aphids have not. Previous data with laboratory colonies suggested that virulent aphids have higher overall gene expression, including transposable elements, some of which influence gene regulation. However, we lack information on how genetic variation in natural populations impacts adaptation and potentially gene regulation. We integrated population genome scans of field-collected, soybean aphid populations with gene expression profiles of virulent and avirulent laboratory colonies to uncover connections between genetic differentiation and gene regulation for virulence. Genome scan methods found 2144 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with significant genetic differentiation (i.e., outliers) in field-collected populations. These SNPs were near 1004 genes, representing 5.16% of the effective number of genes. Based on previous RNA-Seq data with laboratory colonies, we found 3160 genes and 147 long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) with differential expression among virulent and avirulent biotypes. By integrating both data sets, we identified 16 genes and 5 long non-coding RNAs with differential expression and that were associated with an outlier SNP (within 10 kbp). We validated SNPs with additional field collected aphids and found an aphid clone with stronger virulence than our laboratory virulent colony, surviving on 2 different aphid-resistant soybean varieties. This new virulent clone had fixed allele differences at 9 SNPs compared to our avirulent and other virulent colony. Field collected soybean aphids matching the phenotype of this new virulent clone had significant genetic differentiation with 3 outlier SNPs near genes related to zinc transport and lachesin compared to field collected avirulent aphids. Our entire data reinforced the importance of a potential multi-genetic response to overcome plant defence and generates new insights into complex genetic and regulatory mechanisms involved in insect-plant interactions.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Aphid symbiotic virus engineered for in vivo expression of insecticidal effectors.

Microbial pesticides are eco-friendly alternatives to chemical pesticides. However, few viral pesticides have been developed. Insects harbor diverse symbiotic viruses, which have the potential to be engineered for translational applications in pest control. Here, we engineered Acyrthosiphon pisum virus (APV), a symbiotic virus of the pea aphid, to deliver anti-aphid effectors using reverse genetics technology. A cytomegalovirus (CMV) promoter-driven APV infectious clone was successfully rescued in pea aphids with the assistance of nanocarrier star polymer (SPc). Based on this infectious clone, the protein coding sequence of chymotrypsin inhibitor variant 8 (Chy8) and the double-stranded RNA sequence targeting the aphid clip-domain serine protease (SPLP) were separately assembled into the APV genome to generate APV-Chy8 and APV-dsSPLP infectious clones, respectively. The recombinant APV clones reduced aphid relative survival rates by 34% and 17% by microinjection, respectively. To enhance the transcriptional efficiency, the APV-Chy8 and APV-dsSPLP clones were transcribed in vitro using the T7 promoter. The in vitro-synthesized APV-Chy8 and APV-dsSPLP clones reduced aphid relative survival rates by 48% and 45% by microinjection, respectively. These results demonstrate that engineered APV can deliver cargos and reduce aphid survival under injection-based experimental conditions, highlighting the potential of symbiotic virus-based vectors for delivering insecticidal effectors.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Functional analysis of the role of a wound-induced leucine aminopeptidase gene homologue isolated from Rorippa indica in aphid herbivory.

Leucine aminopeptidases (LAPs) are multifunctional enzymes with roles in both defence and development. In plants, they are reported to be induced by wound-inflicting Lepidopteran insects and regulate wound response pathways leading to an effective defence response. Infestation by Hemipteran mustard aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (L.) Kaltenbach has been reported to induce wound response as well as a wound-responsive Arabidopsis thaliana Lap1 homologue (RI01; GenBank Accession: JK034053) in Rorippa indica (L.) Hiern. This is interesting as Hemipteran insects like aphids are assumed to inflict minimal wounding. In the present study, starting with the RI01 sequence information, we isolated the full length (1566 bp) sequence of a novel R. indica Lap (RiLap) gene, performed in silico analyses and developed transgenic R. indica plants with suppressed RiLAP activity by expressing a 565 bp antisense fragment of RiLap cDNA. We found that the isolated RiLAP is an acidic LAP of M17 family and suppressing it causes a significant increase in aphid herbivory but reduction in total chlorophyll content and possibly photosynthetic capacity in aphid infested transgenic plants of the T1 generation. These findings though preliminary suggest that RiLap could have a role in deterring aphids by acting as a regulatory protein simultaneously balancing defence response and photosynthetic capacity or plant growth. Noting the dearth of research in this area, this pilot study will be useful for designing future in depth analyses in understanding the role of Laps in defence response against Hemipteran insects. The study has implications in the development of sustainable pest management avenues.

Leucyl Aminopeptidase↗
PubMed2025

Analysis of Duplication and Potential Functional Divergence of Wing Gene Network Components in Pea Aphids.

A fundamental focus of evolutionary developmental biology is uncovering the genetic mechanisms responsible for the gain and loss of characters. One approach to this question is to investigate changes in the coordinated expression of a group of genes important for the development of a character of interest (a gene regulatory network). Here we consider the possibility that modifications to the wing gene regulatory network (wGRN), as defined by work primarily done in Drosophila melanogaster, were involved in the evolution of wing dimorphisms of the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum). We hypothesize that this may have occurred via changes in expression levels or by duplication followed by divergence of wGRN components. To test this, we annotated members of the wGRN in the pea aphid genome and assessed their expression levels in first and third nymphal instars of winged and wingless morphs of males and asexual females. We find that only 2 of the 32 assessed genes exhibit morph-biased expression. We also find that three wing genes (apterous (ap), warts (wts), and decapentaplegic (dpp)) have undergone gene duplication. In each case, the resulting paralogs show signs consistent with functional divergence, exhibiting either sex-, morph-, or stage-specific expression. Two gene duplicates, wts2 and dpp3, are of particular interest with respect to wing dimorphism, as they exhibit male morph-specific isoforms and wingless male-biased expression, respectively. These gene expression results provide an important first step toward identifying members of the pea aphid wGRN that may play a causative role in differentiating winged from wingless morphs. These findings supplement our understanding of trends in developmental gene network evolution, such as side-stepping pleiotropic constraint via duplication and sub-functionalization, underlying the emergence of novel phenotypes.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Molecular and transcriptional regulation of plant defense responses to aphid infestation.

Aphids are one of the important agricultural pests causing substantial yield losses in crops grown across the globe. Aphids are known to cause direct feeding damages and indirect losses due to sooty mold development and plant virus transmission. Plants respond to these attacks by mounting a complex defense response at the infested sites and systemic levels. This multilayered defense response involves a highly coordinated network of phytohormones and other signalling components like Ca2+, mitogen activated protein kinases and reactive oxygen species. Key to these complex responses is a well-regulated gene expression involving several transcription factors. A wide range of transcription factors are structurally and functionally characterized across some model plants and in a few agronomically important crops. These transcription factors play diverse roles such as defense gene expression modulation, regulation of hormone signaling, secondary metabolism, oxidative stress response, cell wall modifications, and phloem-based defense. Understanding the integration of signaling pathways, hormone crosstalk, and transcription factor mediated regulation provides a framework for practical applications, including breeding, genome editing, and elicitor-based strategies. This review highlights how plant defense signaling and transcriptional regulation against aphids can be harnessed to develop sustainable and novel pest management solutions.

Aphid↗
PubMed2026

Rapidly evolving aphid gall effector proteins exhibit saposin-like folds.

Many insects manipulate plants by injecting effector proteins. In one extreme example of this molecular "hijacking," Hormaphis cornu aphids inject bicycle proteins into Hamamelis virginiana, contributing to the development of novel organs called galls. Bicycle proteins share no amino acid sequence similarity with proteins of known function. Here, we report the crystal structures of two divergent bicycle proteins. Both proteins contain saposin-like folds: one with multiple disulfide bonds exhibits a swapped domain topology; the other has no disulfide bonds and possesses two distinct, tandem domains. To explore the structural evolution of bicycle proteins, we attempted to predict bicycle protein structures with Alphafold2 (AF2) and other deep learning programs. While AF2 did not recover the two experimental structures using existing databases, it succeeded when provided with multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) of protein sequences from newly sequenced closely related species. Using this approach, we generated 2,400 high-confidence bicycle protein predictions from seven aphid species. While all aphid bicycle proteins contain predicted saposin-like folds, they display a vast diversity of structural and physicochemical properties. While this diversity thwarts prediction of conserved functions encoded in structure, it suggests that bicycle proteins have evolved to target diverse plant processes and/or to evade plant immune surveillance. Our extension of AF2 with custom MSAs of proteins from closely related species provides a generalizable, powerful approach for predicting structures of rapidly evolving protein families.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Rapidly evolving aphid gall effector proteins exhibit saposin-like folds.

Many insects manipulate plants by injecting effector proteins. In one extreme example of this molecular "hijacking", Hormaphis cornu aphids inject bicycle proteins into Hamamelis virginiana (Witch Hazel), contributing to the development of novel organs called galls. Bicycle proteins share no amino acid sequence similarity with proteins of known function. Here, we report the crystal structures of two divergent bicycle proteins. Both proteins contain saposin-like folds: one with multiple disulfide bonds exhibits a helix swap; the other has no disulfide bonds and possesses two tandem domains. To explore the structural evolution of bicycle proteins, we predicted bicycle protein structures with Alphafold2 (AF2). While AF2 did not recover the two experimental structures using existing databases, it succeeded after we provided multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) containing protein sequences encoded in new genome sequences from closely related aphid species. Using this customized approach at scale, we generated 2400 high-confidence predictions for bicycle proteins from seven aphid species. This dataset revealed that bicycle proteins without cysteines are outliers in fold space and appear to have evolved from ancestral proteins with disulfide-bonded saposin-like folds. While all bicycle proteins contain predicted saposin-like folds, they display a vast diversity of structural and physicochemical properties. While this diversity thwarts prediction of conserved functions encoded in structure, it suggests that bicycle proteins have evolved to target diverse plant processes and/or to evade plant immune surveillance.

AlphaFold predictions↗
PubMed2026

Preliminary mapping of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) tolerance genes to the English grain aphid (Sitobion avenae Fabricius) by genome-wide association study.

Six Sitobion avenae-tolerant wheat accessions, mapped 110 associated SNPs and six candidate genes were identified, providing valuable genetic resources for breeding wheat with tolerance to S. avenae. Wheat tolerance to the English grain aphid (Sitobion avenae) is rarely incorporated into integrated pest management strategies for wheat fields. The scarcity of tolerant accession and insufficient mapping of tolerance-related gene are key limiting factors. To address these gaps, 640 wheat accessions were evaluated for S. avenae tolerance, combined with genome-wide association study (GWAS) and qPCR validation. Six wheat accessions with stable tolerance were identified: Lerma Rojo 64, AC Vista, Hanxuan 10, Zimai, Ningnuomai 1, Louguding. A total of 110 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) loci associated with tolerance to S. avenae were mapped, and six candidate genes (TraesCS2D03G0041800, TraesCS2Dnew048215, TraesCS2D03G0046300, TraesCS6B03G0655800, TraesCS2Dnew048223, TraesCS2D03G0040800) were examined for transcriptional responses following aphid infestation via qRT-PCR. These genes are involved in cellular redox homeostasis, ADP-binding-mediated defense, and photosystem II (PSII) functionality. This study provides valuable genetic resources for breeding wheat with tolerance to S. avenae and lays a foundation for subsequent functional validation of these tolerance genes and its molecular mechanism exploration.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

MicroRNA-driven regulatory networks in aphid ecological adaptation: integrating stress tolerance, dispersal plasticity, and population expansion.

Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are important agricultural pests and exhibit strong ecological adaptability, allowing them to persist under stress, disperse to new habitats, and rapidly increase population size. Recent advances in functional genomics have identified microRNAs (miRNAs) as key post-transcriptional regulators involved in these processes, yet their roles have remained fragmented across studies. Here, we synthesize current evidence into a "three-stage framework", encompassing population maintenance under stress, dispersal to new habitats, and population expansion upon establishment. We highlight how miRNAs regulate detoxification pathways (e.g., P450s, UGTs, ABC transporters), mediate interactions with host plants and symbionts, and integrate hormonal signaling networks including insulin, juvenile hormone, and ecdysteroid pathways. This framework identifies candidate miRNAs, target genes, and signaling pathways that may recur across different ecological contexts, including stress responses, dispersal-related plasticity, and reproductive regulation. However, direct evidence demonstrating that candidate shared miRNA regulators coordinate multiple life-history stages remains limited and requires further experimental validation. We critically evaluate the strength of functional evidence, distinguishing experimentally validated miRNA-target interactions from prediction- or expression-based associations. Finally, we discuss emerging applications of miRNA-based pest control, including artificial miRNAs, RNAi technologies, and nanocarrier delivery systems. By linking molecular mechanisms with ecological outcomes, this review provides a synthesis and highlights miRNAs as important regulators of aphid adaptation and candidate targets for sustainable management strategies.

Aphids↗
PubMed2025

Analysis of duplication and possible sub-functionalization of wing gene network components in pea aphids.

A fundamental focus of evolutionary-developmental biology is uncovering the genetic mechanisms responsible for the gain and loss of characters. One approach to this question is to investigate changes in the coordinated expression of a group of genes important for the development of a character of interest (a gene regulatory network). Here we consider the possibility that modifications to the wing gene regulatory network (wGRN), as defined by work primarily done in Drosophila melanogaster, were involved in the evolution of wing dimorphisms of the pea aphid (Acyrthosiphon pisum). We hypothesize that this may have occurred via changes in expression levels or duplication followed by sub-functionalization of wGRN components. To test this, we annotated members of the wGRN in the pea aphid genome and assessed their expression levels in first and third nymphal instars of winged and wingless morphs of males and asexual females. We find that only two of the 32 assessed genes exhibit morph-biased expression. We also find that three wing genes (apterous (ap), warts (wts), and decapentaplegic (dpp)) have undergone gene duplication. In each case, the resulting paralogs show signs of functional divergence, exhibiting either sex-, morph-, or stage-specific expression. Two gene duplicates, wts2 and dpp3, are of particular interest with respect to wing dimorphism, as they exhibit a wingless male-specific isoform and wingless male-biased expression, respectively. These results supplement our understanding of trends in developmental gene network evolution, such as side-stepping pleiotropic constraint via duplication and sub-functionalization, underlying the emergence of novel phenotypes.

dimorphism↗
PubMed2026

Structural basis of sex pheromone detection in aphids.

Sex pheromones play a central role in regulating animal behavior and reproduction. In insects, these signals are perceived through specialized odorant receptors (ORs) that mediate species-specific communication and safeguard genetic integrity. However, the structural basis of sex pheromone detection remains largely unresolved. Here, we identified two ORs in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum, along with the conserved OR co-receptor (Orco), which together mediate recognition of the pheromone components nepetalactone and nepetalactol. Functional assays demonstrated that ApOR21-Orco and ApOR22-Orco specifically respond to nepetalactol and nepetalactone, respectively. Using cryo-electron microscopy, we resolved the structure of the ApOR22-Orco complex in three states - unbound closed, nepetalactone-bound closed, and nepetalactone-bound open - revealing a heterotetrameric ion channel formed by one ApOR22 and three ApOrco subunits. Ligand binding to ApOR22 triggers conformational rearrangements that induce asymmetric pore dilation, thereby enabling ion conduction. Together, these results provide a mechanistic framework for understanding sex pheromone perception in insects and establish a structural foundation for the rational development of environmentally sustainable pest-control strategies.

Animals↗
PubMed2025

A GDSL lipase confers resistance to piercing-sucking insects in tobacco by strengthening leaf cuticle.

Piercing-sucking insects, such as whiteflies and aphids, cause massive economic losses in major crops around the world. During feeding, the stylets of piercing-sucking insects navigate cuticles, cell walls, epidermal cells, and mesophyll cells; thus, these barriers are vital for the resistance of plants to insects. However, the relationship between insect stylet probing behavior and the composition and structure of these barriers remains unclear. Here, we identified a tobacco Cuticle Related Factor (NtCRF), which was induced significantly by whitefly infestation. Bioassays showed that NtCRF positively regulated plant resistance against whiteflies and green peach aphids. Silencing of NtCRF did not affect plant jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) defenses but shortened the stylet probing time of phloem-feeders. Further studies confirmed that silencing of NtCRF resulted in significant structure destruction of the leaf cuticle and led to increased epidermal permeability. Overexpression of NtCRF in Arabidopsis also significantly enhanced the plant's resistance against whiteflies and green peach aphids. Our findings expand understanding of plant-insect interactions and provide a strategy for genetic improvement of crop resistance against piercing-sucking insects.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Identification and functional validation of glutathione S-transferase genes involved in detoxification of sulfoxaflor, afidopyropen and lambda-cyhalothrin in Aphis glycines.

BACKGROUND: Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) play important roles in the detoxification of insecticides in insects. However, genome-wide identification and functional characterization of the GST gene family in the soybean aphid Aphis glycines have not been performed. RESULTS: A total of 17 AgGST genes were identified in the A. glycines genome and classified into five classes. Phylogenetic analysis and chromosomal mapping showed that delta and epsilon class genes experienced significant expansion. Exposure to LC₅₀ concentrations of sulfoxaflor, afidopyropen and lambda-cyhalothrin strongly induced several AgGST genes with AgGSTd5, AgGSTd6 and AgGSTe2 displaying the highest expression levels. RNA interference of AgGSTd5 significantly increased aphid mortality following exposure to all three insecticides. Knockdown of AgGSTd6 significantly elevated mortality under sulfoxaflor, while knockdown of AgGSTe2 significantly increased mortality under both sulfoxaflor and lambda-cyhalothrin. In contrast, silencing of AgGSTt1 and AgGSTt2 showed no significant effect on aphid mortality under the tested insecticides. CONCLUSION: This study provides comprehensive characterization of the GST gene family in A. glycines and demonstrates that AgGSTd5 plays a central role in the detoxification of sulfoxaflor, afidopyropen and lambda-cyhalothrin, while AgGSTd6 and AgGSTe2 contribute to tolerance against specific insecticides among the three compounds. These genes represent promising molecular targets for monitoring insecticide detoxification responses and for the development of strategies based on GST inhibitors to enhance insecticide efficacy in integrated pest management. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Revealing Functional Traits of Insect Pest Suppressive Rhizobacterial Strains Through Comparative Genomics.

Root inoculation with rhizobacteria is an emerging strategy to enhance plant resistance to aphid herbivory, yet the microbial functional traits underpinning these responses remain poorly characterised. Here, we present a comparative genomic analysis of five rhizobacteria (Acidovorax radicis N35, Bacillus subtilis B171, Bacillus velezensis FZB42, Rhizobium radiobacter F4 and Pseudomonas simiae WCS417r) that suppress aphids when inoculated onto barley. As expected, functional variation largely reflected phylogenetic relatedness; however, candidate traits implicated in modulation of plant immune defences were conserved across all strains, including biosynthesis of 2,3-butanediol, riboflavin and salicylic acid. Additional shared functions, linked to plant defence signalling, included phytoene and squalene biosynthesis (absent in P. simiae) and N-acyl homoserine lactone quorum sensing (absent in Bacillus spp.). Strain-specific traits were also identified, including surfactin production in Bacillus spp. and hydrogen cyanide biosynthesis in A. radicis and P. simiae. Comparison with a broader collection of rhizobacteria revealed that many putative plant-beneficial functions identified were widely conserved, including among closely related phytopathogens. This extensive functional overlap suggests aphid suppression cannot be explained solely by presence or absence of broad functional traits, but rather by specific trait combinations, regulatory differences, or context-dependent expression. This highlights the need for genome-informed approaches for bioinoculant discovery.

Animals↗
PubMed2025

The release of sexual conflict after sex loss is associated with evolutionary changes in gene expression.

Sexual conflict can arise because males and females, while sharing most of their genome, can have different phenotypic optima. Sexually dimorphic gene expression may help reduce conflict, but the expression of many genes may remain sub-optimal owing to unresolved tensions between the sexes. Asexual lineages lack such conflict, making them relevant models for understanding the extent to which sexual conflict influences gene expression. We investigate the evolution of sexual conflict subsequent to sex loss by contrasting the gene expression patterns of sexual and asexual lineages in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. Although asexual lineages of this aphid produce a small number of males in autumn, their mating opportunities are limited because of geographic isolation between sexual and asexual lineages. Therefore, gene expression in parthenogenetic females of asexual lineages is no longer constrained by that of other morphs. We found that the expression of genes in males from asexual lineages tended towards the parthenogenetic female optimum, in agreement with theoretical predictions. Surprisingly, males and parthenogenetic females of asexual lineages overexpressed genes normally found in the ovaries and testes of sexual morphs. These changes in gene expression in asexual lineages may arise from the relaxation of selection or the dysregulation of gene networks otherwise used in sexual lineages.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Historical metabolic adaptation potentiates the rapid evolution of flonicamid resistance in Myzus persicae.

Rapid adaptation to novel environments is often shaped not only by newly acquired mutations but also by historical genetic backgrounds established through prior evolutionary events. However, the extent to which such historical contingency contributes to the rapid evolution of insecticide resistance remains poorly understood. Here, we investigated the emergence of resistance to flonicamid, a recently deployed insecticide, in the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae. We show that constitutive overexpression of the P450 enzymes CYP6CY3 and CYP6CY4, already widespread in populations of M. persicae before flonicamid deployment, confers a previously cryptic tolerance phenotype to flonicamid. However, biochemical and transgenic analyses demonstrated that these metabolic adaptations provide only weak protection against flonicamid. Following flonicamid deployment, however, a novel target-site mutation, NaamV251I, in the recently identified molecular target of 4-trifluoromethylnicotinamide (TFNA-AM), emerged in M. persicae on a genetic background of CYP6CY3 or CYP6CY4 overexpression. Structural modeling, enzymatic assays, and CRISPR-Cas9 genome editing demonstrated that this mutation reduces target sensitivity and independently confers moderate resistance. Strikingly, combining the nicotinamidase (Naam) mutation with pre-existing CYP6CY3 or CYP6CY4 overexpression produced substantially elevated resistance phenotypes that far exceeded the effects of either mechanism alone. Our results demonstrate that the pre-existing metabolic background did not itself evolve further following flonicamid deployment but fundamentally altered the phenotypic consequences of a subsequently acquired target-site mutation. These findings provide direct evidence that historical adaptive variation can potentiate rapid resistance evolution to newly introduced insecticides and reveal how interactions between past and contemporary adaptations shape evolutionary responses to novel environmental challenges.

Animals↗
PubMed2025

The SlGRAS9-SlMYC1 regulatory module controls glandular trichome formation and modulates resilience to pest in tomato.

Trichomes of aerial plant organs contribute to adaptive responses to abiotic and biotic stresses. In horticultural plants, increasing glandular trichome density is an effective breeding strategy to enhance resistance to herbivores through promoting the capacity to produce specialized metabolites. The regulatory mechanisms controlling multicellular trichome formation are only partially understood. In this study, we reveal that SlGRAS9 and SlMYC1 transcription factors form a regulatory module controlling glandular trichome formation in multiple tissues. Knockout of SlGRAS9 or overexpression of SlMYC1 in tomato leads to an increased number of type VI glandular trichomes and to higher terpenoid accumulation in leaves, petals, sepals, and fruits. Conversely, knockout of SlMYC1 results in reduced type VI glandular trichomes number and terpenoid levels. Promoter-binding and genetic interaction experiments revealed that SlGRAS9 negatively regulates the transcription of SlMYC1, indicating that the regulation of glandular trichome formation by SlGRAS9 is dependent, at least partly, on SlMYC1. Consistently, both SlGRAS9 knockout and SlMYC1 overexpression result in higher tolerance of tomato plants to spider mites and aphids. In addition to adding some of the missing components to the mechanisms controlling formation of type VI glandular trichome, our findings also uncover new targets for breeding strategies aimed at improving crop protection against pest invasion, thus ensuring crop yield resilience to climate change.

Trichomes↗
PubMed2026

The complete genomic sequence of a novel member of the genus Caulimovirus isolated from Dregea volubilis.

A novel caulimovirus was identified from diseased leaves of Dregea volubilis exhibiting yellowing and vein-associated chlorosis in Yuanjiang County, Yunnan Province, China. The virus was tentatively named Dregea volubilis caulimovirus 1 (DVCaV1). The complete genome sequence of DVCaV1, determined by de novo assembly of high-throughput sequencing data, comprises 8,160 bp of circular double-stranded DNA containing two intergenic regions and seven open reading frames (ORFs). These ORFs encode (in order) a movement protein (MP), an aphid transmission factor (ATF), a virion-associated protein (VAP), a coat protein (CP), a polymerase polyprotein (Pol, containing protease, reverse transcriptase, and RNase H domains), a transactivator/viroplasmin (TAV) protein, and a hypothetical protein of unknown function. Sequence comparisons revealed the highest nucleotide similarity with strawberry vein banding virus (SVBV; NC_001725). Phylogenetic analysis confirmed DVCaV1 as a member of the genus Caulimovirus, with SVBV as its closest known relative. According to current ICTV species demarcation criteria for the genus Caulimovirus (host range and > 20% nucleotide sequence divergence in the polymerase region), DVCaV1 represents a novel species. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of a caulimovirus detected in naturally symptomatic Dregea volubilis.

Genome, Viral↗