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| Open AccessLipases and carboxylesterases affect moth sex pheromone compounds involved in interspecific mate recognition
Moth sex pheromones, pivotal for mate attraction, are a classic model for sexual selection. Through introgression, transcriptomics and knocking out genes, this study identifies lipases and esterases that affect pheromone blend composition, offering insights into moth pheromone evolution.
- Arthur de Fouchier
- , Elise Fruitet
- & Astrid T. Groot
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Article
| Open AccessBacterial detoxification of plant defence secondary metabolites mediates the interaction between a shrub and frugivorous birds
The interactions between plants and frugivores are mediated by plants’ secondary metabolites. Here the authors demonstrate that specific bacteria, capable of consuming these metabolites, can alter these interactions, benefiting both plants and fruit consumers.
- Beny Trabelcy
- , Nimrod Shteindel
- & Yoram Gerchman
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Article
| Open AccessEmission of floral volatiles is facilitated by cell-wall non-specific lipid transfer proteins
Volatile compounds to be released from the plant cell to the atmosphere must cross the cell wall. Here the authors show that cell-wall localized non-specific lipid transfer proteins facilitate the diffusion of volatiles across the hydrophilic cell wall.
- Pan Liao
- , Itay Maoz
- & Natalia Dudareva
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Article
| Open AccessFatal attraction of Caenorhabditis elegans to predatory fungi through 6-methyl-salicylic acid
Methyl salicylate ester is a plant metabolite involved in plant-insect and plant-plant interactions. Here, Yu et al. show that a nematode-trapping fungus has potential to produce a related compound, 6-methyl salicylate, which attracts its prey (nematodes) and modulates spore germination and trap formation in the fungus.
- Xi Yu
- , Xiaodi Hu
- & Reinhard Fischer
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Article
| Open AccessMethane from microbial hydrogenolysis of sediment organic matter before the Great Oxidation Event
Microbial CH4 kept the early Earth warm under the faint young sun, but clear records are lacking. Here the authors present isotopic evidence that CH4 seepage in the Canadian shield is from hydrogen biodegradation in a Neoarchean ecosystem rather than an abiotic synthesis product.
- Xinyu Xia
- & Yongli Gao
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Article
| Open AccessSugar transporters enable a leaf beetle to accumulate plant defense compounds
The herbivorous horseradish flea beetle sequesters plant toxins to defend against predators. Here the authors identify glucosinolate transporters expressed in the beetle Malpighian tubules and provide evidence that these reabsorb glucosinolates from the tubule lumen to prevent their loss by excretion.
- Zhi-Ling Yang
- , Hussam Hassan Nour-Eldin
- & Franziska Beran
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Article
| Open AccessPlant metabolism of nematode pheromones mediates plant-nematode interactions
Small molecules in the rhizosphere regulate interactions between plants and other organisms. Here the authors show that an ascaroside pheromone secreted by plant-parasitic nematodes is converted by host plant peroxisomal β-oxidation into shorter side-chained ascarosides that repel nematodes.
- Murli Manohar
- , Francisco Tenjo-Castano
- & Frank C. Schroeder
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Article
| Open AccessEarly-exposure to new sex pheromone blends alters mate preference in female butterflies and in their offspring
Pheromones are an essential cue for species recognition and mate selection in many insects including the butterfly Bicyclus anynana. Here the authors show that females with a short social experience of a new male learn preferences for novel pheromone blends, a preference which also occurs in their daughters.
- Emilie Dion
- , Li Xian Pui
- & Antónia Monteiro
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Article
| Open AccessThe oomycete Lagenisma coscinodisci hijacks host alkaloid synthesis during infection of a marine diatom
Flagellated oomycetes frequently infect unicellular algae, thus limiting their proliferation. Here, the authors show that an oomycete rewires the metabolome of a marine bloom-forming diatom, thereby promoting infection success.
- Marine Vallet
- , Tim U. H. Baumeister
- & Georg Pohnert
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Article
| Open AccessSystemic acquired resistance networks amplify airborne defense cues
Plants immune responses are triggered upon perception of volatile monoterpenes. Here, Wenig et al. show that a feed-forward loop featuring LEGUME LECTIN-LIKE PROTEIN1 propagates monoterpene-associated cues both within and between plants, illustrating how systemic immunity could act at a population level.
- Marion Wenig
- , Andrea Ghirardo
- & A. Corina Vlot
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Article
| Open AccessBis-naphthopyrone pigments protect filamentous ascomycetes from a wide range of predators
It is thought that fungi protect themselves from predators by the production of toxic compounds. Here, Xu et al. show that a wide range of animal predators avoid feeding on Fusarium fungi, and this depends on fungal production of a bis-naphthopyrone pigment that is not toxic to the predators.
- Yang Xu
- , Maria Vinas
- & Petr Karlovsky
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Article
| Open AccessAn antifungal polyketide associated with horizontally acquired genes supports symbiont-mediated defense in Lagria villosa beetles
Burkholderia bacteria protect the offspring of Lagria beetles against pathogens. Here, Flórez et al. identify an antifungal polyketide that is likely encoded by a horizontally acquired gene cluster on the genome of a dominant, uncultured Burkholderia symbiont of Lagria villosa.
- Laura V. Flórez
- , Kirstin Scherlach
- & Martin Kaltenpoth
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Article
| Open AccessChemical warfare between leafcutter ant symbionts and a co-evolved pathogen
Acromyrmex ants cultivate fungus gardens that can be parasitized by Escovopsis sp., leading to colony collapse. Here, Heine et al. identify two secondary metabolites produced by Escovopsis that accumulate in Acromyrmex tissue, reduce behavioural defenses and suppress symbiotic Pseudonocardia bacteria.
- Daniel Heine
- , Neil A. Holmes
- & Barrie Wilkinson
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Article
| Open AccessThe assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis produces two distinct venoms in separate gland lumens
Venom can be used both offensively for prey capture and defensively to deter predators. Here, Walker and colleagues demonstrate that the assassin bug Pristhesancus plagipennis has two distinct venom glands that produce venoms with distinct compositions that can be elicited by different stimuli.
- Andrew A. Walker
- , Mark L. Mayhew
- & Glenn F. King
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Article
| Open AccessAutoinhibitory sterol sulfates mediate programmed cell death in a bloom-forming marine diatom
Phytoplankton blooms are shaped by a period of rapid growth followed by massive cell death. Here the authors show that sterol sulfates accumulate in aging cells of a bloom-forming marine diatom and trigger an oxidative burst that leads to a mechanism of apoptosis-like death.
- Carmela Gallo
- , Giuliana d’Ippolito
- & Angelo Fontana
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Article
| Open AccessIdentification of an insect-produced olfactory cue that primes plant defenses
Plants are able to prime anti-herbivore defenses in response to olfactory cues of insect pests. Here, Helms et al. identify the insect pheromone E,S-conophthorin produced by the goldenrod gall fly as the specific chemical component that elicits this priming response in goldenrod plants.
- Anjel M. Helms
- , Consuelo M. De Moraes
- & Mark C. Mescher
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Article
| Open AccessFunctional evolution of Lepidoptera olfactory receptors revealed by deorphanization of a moth repertoire
The range of odours that an insect can detect depends on its olfactory receptors. Here, the authors functionally characterize the olfactory receptor repertoire of the mothSpodoptera littoralis using the Drosophilaempty neuron system and reconstruct the evolution of these receptors in the Lepidoptera.
- Arthur de Fouchier
- , William B. Walker III
- & Emmanuelle Jacquin-Joly
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Article
| Open AccessAscarosides coordinate the dispersal of a plant-parasitic nematode with the metamorphosis of its vector beetle
Many species of nematodes use pheromones called ascarosides to coordinate their behaviour and development. Here, Zhao et al. demonstrate that the beetle vector of the pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) also uses and responds to ascarosides in its interactions with the nematodes.
- Lilin Zhao
- , Xinxing Zhang
- & Jianghua Sun
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Article
| Open AccessRectified directional sensing in long-range cell migration
Cell migration is regulated by spatial and temporal information, but how the two are integrated is not well understood. Here, Nakajima et al. use dynamic microfluidics gradients to show that Ras activation at the leading edge of Dictyosteliumis suppressed when chemoattractant concentration decreases over time.
- Akihiko Nakajima
- , Shuji Ishihara
- & Satoshi Sawai
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Article |
The bacterial metabolite 2-aminoacetophenone promotes association of pathogenic bacteria with flies
Certain bacterial metabolites can affect insect behaviour, but the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Here, the authors show that 2-aminoacetophenone, produced by the opportunistic human pathogen Pseudomonas aeruginosa, attracts flies and facilitates microbial dissemination and colonization of the fly gut.
- Stefania-Elisavet Kapsetaki
- , Ilias Tzelepis
- & Yiorgos Apidianakis
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Article
| Open AccessSex pheromone biosynthetic pathways are conserved between moths and the butterfly Bicyclus anynana
Little is known about the evolutionary origins of the genes involved in butterfly pheromone synthesis. Here, Liénard et al. show that the biosynthetic pathways involved in the production of male courtship scents of the butterfly, Bicyclus anynana, are shared with females of many moth species.
- Marjorie A Liénard
- , Hong-Lei Wang
- & Christer Löfstedt
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Article
| Open AccessA nonspecific defensive compound evolves into a competition avoidance cue and a female sex pheromone
Chemical communication can evolve from compounds used for other purposes, but experimental evidence is scarce. Here, Weiss et al.show a gradual evolution of a defensive compound into a competition avoidance mediator and a sex pheromone, which was accompanied by diversification of chemical messengers to obtain the required specificity.
- Ingmar Weiss
- , Thomas Rössler
- & Johannes Stökl
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Interspecific bacterial sensing through airborne signals modulates locomotion and drug resistance
Microbes use small molecules to sense and communicate with other cells and species. Kim et al. now demonstrate that volatile compounds emitted by Bacillus subtilis can affect Escherichia colimotility and antibiotic resistance through activation of a conserved regulatory mechanism.
- Kwang-sun Kim
- , Soohyun Lee
- & Choong-Min Ryu
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Article
| Open AccessA gustatory receptor involved in host plant recognition for oviposition of a swallowtail butterfly
Female Swallowtail butterflies will only lay their eggs on a small number of plants, which they choose by detecting specific chemicals on the leaf surface. Here, a gustatory receptor,PxutGr1, is identified in Papilio xuthus, which is used by the butterfly to detect synephrine when selecting a host plant.
- Katsuhisa Ozaki
- , Masasuke Ryuda
- & Hiroshi Yoshikawa
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Article
| Open AccessMicroorganisms from aphid honeydew attract and enhance the efficacy of natural enemies
In this study, a bacterium is identified in the honeydew of aphids, which produces volatile chemicals and attracts hoverflies. The findings could aid the development of pest control systems for aphids.
- Pascal D. Leroy
- , Ahmed Sabri
- & Eric Haubruge