Current opinion in insect science最新文献

{"title":"The developmental and genetic basis of male genitalia evolution in Drosophilids","authors":"Milton Urum,&nbsp;Ella Preger-Ben Noon","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101335","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101335","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Reproductive organs are among the most variable and rapidly evolving structures in the animal kingdom, probably due to sexual selection. In insects, the diverse morphology of male genitalia is often one of the few visible characteristics that can reliably distinguish closely related species, making it crucial for taxonomic classification. Consistent with this, males of the model organism <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em> and its closely related species display remarkable variations in genital morphology. This variation has made the male genitalia of Drosophilids an invaluable system for dissecting the genetic and developmental pathways responsible for morphological evolution, providing insights into how new structures emerge and how gene regulatory networks are co-opted during this process. In this review, we highlight recent studies that have uncovered developmental processes, novel genes, and regulatory networks that contribute to the morphogenesis and evolution of these extraordinary structures. These studies mark a significant advancement in our understanding of the mechanisms driving the evolution of complex organs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101335"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143064401","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Novel automation, artificial intelligence, and biomimetic engineering advancements for insect studies and management","authors":"Donato Romano","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101337","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101337","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Entomology has seen remarkable advancements through the integration of robotics, artificial intelligence (AI), and biomimetic engineering. These technological innovations are revolutionizing how scientists study insect behavior, ecology, and management. Robotics and AI offer unprecedented precision and efficiency in monitoring and controlling insect populations. Biomimetics provides new ways to understand and replicate insect abilities in bioengineered systems. This mini-review highlights recent developments in these fields, focusing on key studies describing the transformative potential of these technologies. I explore their applications, benefits, and challenges, aiming at providing an overview of the current state and future directions in insect science and management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101337"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143064399","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The roles of viruses in tephritid pest multitrophic interactions and an outlook for biological control","authors":"Kelsey A Coffman","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101333","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101333","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Tephritid fruit fly pests remain a considerable problem for agricultural fruit production around the world. New control methods that do not rely on synthetic insecticides are increasingly desirable to diversify tephritid pest management programs. Biological control through the release of parasitoid wasps has historically provided effective suppression of fruit fly pests, although molecular factors that influence the success of fruit fly parasitoids are understudied. Microbes have been demonstrated to facilitate myriad interactions between insects and their environment and have been the subject of recent investigation within tephritids. Specifically, the diversity and function of viruses found within fruit flies and associated parasitoids is an emerging field of research that has the potential to deepen our understanding of previously hidden factors that facilitate sustainable pest control. Most work to date has focused on identifying resident viral communities within fruit flies using metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequencing approaches. Additionally, a growing body of evidence has revealed a multitude of functional dynamics that viruses have with fruit fly hosts, including vertically transmitted commensal viruses and parasitoid-vectored pathogens. Heritable viruses transmitted by fruit fly parasitoids, in particular, have been shown to play prominent roles in fruit fly multitrophic interactions, in which viral infection can shape the survival rate and host range of infected parasitoids. Furthermore, at least one parasitoid virus represents a lethal pathogen to a wide range of fruit fly pest species. Parasitoid viruses could therefore present novel opportunities to leverage natural antagonistic interactions for fruit fly pest control innovations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101333"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143037433","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Genome assemblies and other genomic tools for understanding insect adaptation","authors":"Sebastián Pita ,&nbsp;José M Rico-Porras ,&nbsp;Pedro Lorite ,&nbsp;Pablo Mora","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101334","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101334","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Insects, the most diverse group of animals, exhibit remarkable adaptability, playing both crucial and problematic roles in ecosystems. Recent advancements in genomic technologies, such as high-throughput sequencing, have provided unprecedented insights into the genetic foundations of insect adaptation. This review explores key methodologies, including <em>de novo</em> and reference-guided genome assemblies, and highlights cutting-edge technologies like second- and third-generation sequencing and hybrid techniques. The article delves into the genetic mechanisms underlying insect adaptations, focusing on structural variants. Case studies, such as the <em>Anopheles gambiae</em> genome assembly and the genomic research on <em>Drosophila melanogaster</em>, demonstrate the practical applications of these technologies in understanding pesticide resistance, climate adaptation, and other evolutionary traits. This review underscores the transformative role of genomic tools in insect research, with significant implications for pest management, agriculture, and biodiversity conservation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101334"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143022546","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The transition to flying insects: lessons from evo-devo and fossils","authors":"Takahiro Ohde ,&nbsp;Jakub Prokop","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101332","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101332","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Insects are the only arthropod group to achieve powered flight, which facilitated their explosive radiation on land. It remains a significant challenge to understand the evolutionary transition from nonflying (apterygote) to flying (pterygote) insects due to the large gap in the fossil record. Under such a situation, ontogenic information has historically been used to compensate for fossil evidence. Recent evo-devo studies support and refine a paleontology-based classical hypothesis that an ancestral exite incorporated into the body wall contributed to the origin of insect wings. The modern hypothesis locates an ancestral precoxa leg segment with an exite within the hexapod lateral tergum, reframing the long-standing debate on the insect wing origin. A current focus is on the contributions of the incorporated exite homolog and surrounding tissues, such as the pleuron and the medial <em>bona fide</em> tergum, to wing evolution. In parallel, recent analyses of Paleozoic fossils have confirmed thoracic and abdominal lateral body outgrowths as transitional wing precursors and suggested their possible role as respiratory organs in aquatic or semiaquatic environments. These recent studies have revised our understanding of the transition to flying insects. This review highlights recent progress in both evo-devo and paleontology, and discusses future challenges, including the evolution of metamorphic development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101332"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143001767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Insect visual perception and pest control: opportunities and challenges","authors":"Roger D Santer ,&nbsp;William L Allen","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101331","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2025.101331","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Humans and insects inhabit very different perceptual worlds, so human experimenters need to be aware of their perceptual biases when investigating insect behaviour. In applied entomology, human perceptual biases have been a barrier to the rational design, manufacture, and improvement of pest control devices that effectively exploit insect visual behaviour. This review describes how the influence of human perceptual bias on this area of applied entomology is being reduced by our expanding understanding of insect visual perception and use of visual modelling methods and highlights several important challenges that are yet to be overcome.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101331"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2025-01-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143001765","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Flipping indirect defense: chemical cues from natural enemies mediate multitrophic interactions","authors":"Jessica T Kansman ,&nbsp;Sara L Hermann ,&nbsp;Jared G Ali ,&nbsp;Anjel M Helms","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2024.101330","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2024.101330","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Plants and invertebrates use chemical signals and cues to construct information about their environment. It is well reviewed that chemical signals play key roles in interactions between conspecific insects, such as sex pheromones for finding mates, and that plants transmit chemical signals to recruit natural enemies that kill herbivores. However, it is also known that chemicals emitted by natural enemies can influence insect herbivore physiology and behavior. The detection of chemical cues associated with the presence of natural enemies can influence herbivore movement, feeding, and reproduction, which may limit the damage herbivores inflict on their host plants. Plants detect chemical cues associated with herbivores, but less is known about whether plants also detect chemical cues of natural enemies or how this detection affects plant defense responses. In this review, we highlight what is known about how natural enemy chemical cues directly affect herbivores, how natural enemy cues indirectly affect herbivores through changes in host plant defenses, and we discuss the evolutionary ecology of plant and herbivore responses to natural enemy cues. Finally, we consider application of these concepts for insect pest management. Improving our understanding of how natural enemy chemical cues mediate multitrophic interactions provides a great opportunity for future exploration.</div></div><div><h3>Condensed Abstract</h3><div>Plants and invertebrates use chemical signals and cues to construct information about their environment. Detection of chemical cues from natural enemies can influence herbivore behavior and reduce herbivory. Plants detect chemical cues associated with herbivores, but less is known about whether plants detect cues of natural enemies or how detection affects plant defense responses. Here, we highlight what is known about how natural enemy chemical cues directly affect herbivores and how natural enemy cues indirectly affect herbivores through changes in plant defenses. We discuss the evolutionary ecology of plant and herbivore responses to natural enemy cues and consider applications for pest management.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101330"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142913981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Untangling plastic responses to combined thermal and dietary stress in insects","authors":"Avishikta Chakraborty ,&nbsp;Carla M Sgrò ,&nbsp;Christen K Mirth","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2024.101328","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2024.101328","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Animals are exposed to changes in their environmental conditions daily. Such changes will become increasingly more erratic and unpredictable with ongoing climate change. Responses to changing environments are influenced by the genetic architecture of the traits under selection and modified by a range of physiological, developmental, and behavioural changes resulting from phenotypic plasticity. Furthermore, the interactions between multiple environmental stressors to which organisms are exposed can generate unexpected phenotypic responses. Understanding how genetic and plastic variation contributes to the response to combined environmental stress will be key to predicting how animals will cope with climate change and ultimately will define their ability to persist. Here, we review the approaches used to explore how animals respond to combined stressors, specifically nutrition and temperature, the physiological mechanisms that underlie such plastic responses, and how genetic variation alters this plasticity.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101328"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142913996","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Using AI to prevent the insect apocalypse: toward new environmental risk assessment procedures","authors":"Lautaro Gandara ,&nbsp;Amy L Foreman ,&nbsp;Justin Crocker","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2024.101324","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2024.101324","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Insect populations are declining globally, with multiple potential drivers identified. However, experimental data are needed to understand their relative contributions. We highlight the sublethal effects of pesticides at field-relevant concentrations, often overlooked in standard environmental risk assessments (ERA), as significant contributors to these declines. Behavior, as an easily monitored high-level phenotype, reflects alterations at various phenotypic levels. We propose incorporating behavioral assays with AI-based analytical methods into ERA protocols to better assess the safety of molecules intended for large-scale field use. This approach aims to safeguard food supplies and protect vital ecosystems in the future.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101324"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142892880","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Post-transcriptional regulation of behavior plasticity in social insects","authors":"Shiqi Luo,&nbsp;Xin Zhou","doi":"10.1016/j.cois.2024.101329","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cois.2024.101329","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Social insects often show remarkable behavioral plasticity, which is closely associated with their respective castes. The underpinnings of this plasticity are complex, involving genetic differences among individuals within a colony and regulation of gene expression at multiple levels. Post-transcriptional regulation, which increases the complexity of the transcriptome, plays a crucial role in the multilayer regulatory network that influences social insect behavior. We provide an overview of the impact of three post-transcriptional regulatory processes on the reproductive division of labor and worker division of labor in social insects: alternative splicing, RNA modifications, and noncoding RNAs. We also discuss the relationship between post-transcriptional regulation and chromatin modification.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":11038,"journal":{"name":"Current opinion in insect science","volume":"68 ","pages":"Article 101329"},"PeriodicalIF":5.8,"publicationDate":"2024-12-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142871676","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}