Adaptation of insect herbivores to plant defense: Genome-wide transcriptional responses of the lepidopteran midgut to changes in plant defense chemistry

昆虫食草动物对植物防御的适应：鳞翅目中肠对植物防御化学变化的全基因组转录反应

• 批准号: 135926291
• 负责人: Dr. Marco Herde
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: Institut für Pflanzenernährung
• 依托单位国家: 德国
• 项目类别: Research Fellowships
• 财政年份: 2009
• 资助国家: 德国
• 起止时间: 2008-12-31 至 2010-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/135926291?language=en
• 关键词: Adaptation; insect; herbivores; plant; defense

Higher plants produce myriad proteins and specialized metabolites that target various aspects of insect digestive physiology. In contrast to our knowledge about these host defense mechanisms, relatively little is known about the strategies employed by insects to overcome plant defenses. The major objective of this proposal is to employ modern sequencing and transcriptional profiling technologies to investigate the hypothesis that insect herbivores adapt to changes in leaf chemistry by reconfiguring their midgut physiology. The specific aims of the project are: (i) to perform deep sequencing of the midgut transcriptome of the lepidopteran generalist Trichoplusia ni, and to use this sequence information to design a comprehensive microarray of midgutexpressed T. ni genes; (ii) to use this microarray platform to identify global changes in the midgut transcriptome of T. ni larvae reared on diverse host plants; (iii) to identify T. ni genes that are differentially expressed in response to the jasmonate-based defense system in Arabidopsis thaliana and Solanum lycopersicum; and (iv) to identify T. ni genes that are differentially expressed in response to individual plant defense compounds. Results from these experiments will provide an unprecedented, genome-wide view of how insect midgut physiology is modulated in response to changes in host plant chemistry, and will establish a foundation for future functional analyses of genes and signaling events that control insect adaptation to plant defense compounds. Because pest control strategies that rely on “built-in” plant defenses are often limited by the ability of insects to effectively adapt to these compounds, the identification of insect genes that are triggered by changes in leaf chemistry may facilitate the discovery of novel approaches for pest control.

高等植物产生无数的蛋白质和专门的代谢物，针对昆虫消化生理的各个方面。与我们对这些寄主防御机制的了解相比，我们对昆虫用来克服植物防御的策略知之甚少。这项建议的主要目标是利用现代测序和转录图谱技术来研究昆虫草食动物通过重新配置中肠生理来适应叶片化学变化的假说。该项目的具体目标是：(I)对鳞翅目通用型粉纹夜蛾的中肠转录组进行深度测序，并利用这些序列信息设计中肠表达的粉虱基因的综合微阵列；(Ii)利用这个微阵列平台来确定在不同寄主植物上饲养的粉虱幼虫中肠转录组的全球变化；(Iii)找出拟南芥和番茄中针对茉莉酸防御系统的差异表达基因；以及(Iv)找出与单个植物防御化合物有反应的差异表达的基因。这些实验的结果将提供一个前所未有的全基因组视角，了解昆虫中肠生理是如何随着寄主植物化学的变化而调节的，并将为未来控制昆虫适应植物防御化合物的基因和信号事件的功能分析奠定基础。由于依靠“内置”植物防御系统的害虫控制策略往往受到昆虫对这些化合物的有效适应能力的限制，因此识别由叶片化学变化触发的昆虫基因可能有助于发现新的害虫控制方法。