Pest Management Science最新文献

{"title":"Structure guided development of phenoxyethanol based N-aryloxyethyl heterocycles for the control of Phytophthora infestans.","authors":"Lan-Tu Xiong, Lijuan Wang, Xuefen Zheng, Gen Zhang, Ri-Yuan Tang","doi":"10.1002/ps.70950","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ps.70950","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Late blight caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans remains one of the most devastating diseases threatening global potato and tomato production. Overuse of a narrow range of fungicides has sped up resistance, making it urgent to develop new agents that work differently and are safer.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In this study, a series of N-aryloxyethyl heterocycles were rationally designed by integrating the aryloxyethyl scaffold of phenoxyethanol with bioactive heterocyclic frameworks. Among the 40 synthesized derivatives, compound 8c exhibited the highest anti-oomycete activity against P. infestans, with an EC₅₀ value of 1.67 mg L^-1. In potted tomato assays, 8c provided over 90% protective and curative efficacy at 50 mg L^-1, comparable to carbendazim and slightly lower than cyazofamid. Untargeted metabolomic analysis revealed pronounced perturbations in tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle flux and amino acid biosynthesis, highlighting mitochondrial energy metabolism, with SDH-associated processes emerging as a sensitive metabolic node affected by 8c treatment. This finding was supported by enzymatic assays showing reduced SDH activity. However, the metabolic profile indicates a systemic bioenergetic collapse rather than simple enzyme inhibition. This suggests 8c likely disrupts mitochondrial membrane integrity, leading to an oxidative cascade marked by surging malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and compromised antioxidant defenses. Crucially, acute toxicity assays further indicated a favorable safety profile toward representative non-target organisms, including silkworms, zebrafish, and earthworms.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Collectively, these results identify compound 8c as a promising anti-oomycete lead that combines high efficacy, multi-level metabolic disruption, and encouraging safety characteristics for late blight management. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":"9040-9054"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453215/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148040360","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":"Contrasting effects of rice-crayfish co-culture on insect herbivores at field and landscape scales.","authors":"Meiqi Xie, Hongyuan Zhu, Hongxia Hua, Xinmin Lu, Weihua Ma, Wanlun Cai","doi":"10.1002/ps.70937","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ps.70937","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Insect herbivores threaten global agricultural productivity, and sustainable farming systems have been widely promoted to secure food security. However, how such systems affect pest populations across field and landscape scales, and whether such effects vary among pest species, remain poorly understood. As a major staple crop feeding half the global population, rice faces severe threats from multiple pests with divergent biological traits. Rice-crayfish co-culture (RC) is a rapidly expanding sustainable rice farming system with ecological and economic benefits, yet its impacts on these rice pests remain unclear. We conducted a 4-year field survey to investigate RC's effects on pest abundance at field and landscape scales, and whether such effects differ among pest species.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Across 43-55 paired fields, RC and rice monoculture fields did not significantly differ in the abundance of the white-backed planthopper [Sogatella furcifera (Horváth), WBPH], rice leaf folder [Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée), RLF] and striped stem borer [Chilo suppressalis (Walker), SSB] at the field scale. At the 3.0-km landscape scale, increasing RC coverage was significantly positively linked to WBPH (estimate = 5.31 ± 1.54, P = 0.002) and RLF (estimate = 3.60 ± 1.67, P = 0.031) abundance, yet significantly negatively associated with SSB abundance (estimate = -5.11 ± 1.43, P < 0.001).</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The impacts of RC on rice pests are scale-dependent and species-specific, shaped by pests' distinct biological traits. Our findings highlight that multi-scale, species-specific research is critical for sustainable farming expansion, guiding targeted management instead of uniform control, avoiding unintended outbreaks while maximizing its benefits. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":"8900-8907"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453196/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147969118","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":"Rootstock impacts on citrus flush dynamics, vegetative growth, and Diaphorina citri infestation and dispersion: Implications for huanglongbing management.","authors":"Deived Uilian de Carvalho, Eduardo Augusto Girardi, Wellington Ivo Eduardo, Haroldo Xavier Linhares Volpe, Fernando Alves de Azevedo, Marcelo Pedreira de Miranda, Renato Beozzo Bassanezi","doi":"10.1002/ps.70929","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ps.70929","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Citrus tree vigor is regulated mainly by the rootstock. It may affect vegetative flushes and the dispersal and infestation of Diaphorina citri (Asian citrus psyllid) within the orchard, contributing to the inoculation of the huanglongbing (HLB) bacterium. We conducted an experiment using the sweet orange cv. Hamlin grafted onto two rootstocks of contrasting vigor: the vigorous 'Sunki Tropical' mandarin and the dwarfing 'Flying Dragon' trifoliate orange. The study aimed to investigate the impact of these rootstocks on tree growth, vegetative flush dynamics, psyllid infestation and dispersal, HLB progression, yield, and fruit quality in a young orchard.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Psyllid infestation was strongly associated with the presence of flushes in a given period. Trees on vigorous rootstocks exhibited profuse growth, larger canopies, and longer, more abundant flushes, offering greater resources for psyllid feeding and reproduction over time. In contrast, trees on dwarfing rootstocks had smaller canopies and fewer, shorter shoots (50% shorter than vigorous), resulting in reduced psyllid abundance for these trees as a host in our study. HLB progression was slower in dwarfed trees throughout the evaluation period; however, by 43 months after planting (MAP), disease incidence and severity increased, resulting in similar levels between treatments. Our findings indicate that dwarfing rootstocks have the potential to integrate management strategies to reduce psyllid populations and, consequently, HLB progression under strict control of the insect vector, even in areas with high disease incidence.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Dwarfing rootstocks, such as 'Flying Dragon,' significantly restrict vegetative growth and flush development, thereby reducing available feeding and oviposition sites for psyllids, offering a promising component in integrated HLB management strategies by lowering vector populations and disease spread potential. © 2026 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":"8795-8809"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453183/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147985774","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":"Drought stress modulates indirect defense via bottom-up effects in tomato and wheat.","authors":"Mariangela Milordo, Eya Ben Hmad, Maria Flavia Pitruzzello, Carmelo Cavallaro, Giuseppe Massimino Cocuzza, Lucia Zappalà, Peng Han, Antonio Biondi, Michele Ricupero","doi":"10.1002/ps.70900","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ps.70900","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Biotic and abiotic factors induce bottom-up effects that can be used to enhance indirect plant defenses in agroecosystems. However, the feasibility of integrating biological control with drought-induced plant defense remains largely unexplored. We tested under laboratory conditions how three water regimes (optimal, moderate and severe drought stress) affect plant traits and the attraction of natural enemies, in infested and uninfested tomato and wheat plants. Plant morphological parameters and expression of defense-related genes were measured. The olfactory responses of Encarsia formosa and Cryptolaemus montrouzieri to tomato volatiles, and Aphidius colemani to wheat volatiles were investigated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Moderate to severe water regimes significantly reduced stem diameter on both systems and overregulated ASR1 and PIN2 on tomato. PR1 was overexpressed only under severe stress on wheat. Multiple olfactory responses among the tested natural enemies were observed. Tomato plants under moderate drought stress significantly attracted E. formosa without infestation. C. montrouzieri significantly preferred moderately water-stressed plants when no pest occurred, but the predators chose optimally watered plants over highly drought-stressed plants under pest infestation. A. colemani showed significant preference towards optimally watered plants without the host presence, except when compared to infested moderately drought-stressed plants.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Our results suggest that water stress and pest infestation activate plant defense mechanisms with multiple olfactory consequences on the associated beneficial arthropods. These findings could be used for implementing biocontrol strategies within the IPM context under a changing climate scenario. © 2026 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":"8499-8511"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453258/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147872711","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":"Evaluating astigmatid mites as supplemental food for Macrolophus pygmaeus: contrasting responses between commercial and wild populations.","authors":"María Del Carmen Reche, Carolina Graválos, Amador Rodríguez-Gómez, Virginia Balanza, Ana Belén Abelaira, Pablo Bielza","doi":"10.1002/ps.70882","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ps.70882","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Early establishment of Macrolophus pygmaeus in crops depends on the availability of supplemental food. However, Ephestia kuehniella eggs are costly, and although Artemia franciscana cysts are much cheaper, they may show lower and more variable nutritional quality. We therefore evaluated seven astigmatid mite species as factitious diets for two populations of M. pygmaeus (commercial and wild).</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Survival, development time, adult weight, longevity, fecundity, and demographic parameters were assessed and compared with the standard E. kuehniella diet. As expected, E. kuehniella resulted in the highest biological performance in both populations. Nevertheless, several mite species supported moderate development. Acarus siro and Carpoglyphus lactis emerged as the most promising alternatives, showing relatively high survival, acceptable developmental rates, and less pronounced reductions in fecundity. The wild population showed greater tolerance to suboptimal diets, particularly when fed Lepidoglyphus destructor, suggesting population-specific nutritional responses likely linked to genetic variation. Life table analyses supported these findings.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Although none of the mite species matched the nutritional quality of E. kuehniella, some represent viable and economically competitive supplemental foods capable of promoting M. pygmaeus establishment in the absence of prey. These results highlight the potential to optimize alternative diets and to develop predator strains better adapted to cost-effective food sources. © 2026 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":"8319-8326"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453235/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147831272","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":"Selecting effective nozzle-pressure combinations for successful foliar spray applications of Beauveria bassiana-based mycoinsecticide.","authors":"Roberto Beltrán-Martí, Cruz Garcerá, Patricia Chueca","doi":"10.1002/ps.70908","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ps.70908","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Hydraulic spraying is the main method for applying entomopathogenic fungi (EPF). Negative effects of nozzle and spray pressure on conidial viability have been reported, and appropriate droplet size ranges have been proposed to mitigate them. However, information integrating nozzle-pressure interactions with both physical and biological parameters to identify configurations that maximize pest-control efficacy remains limited.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Conventional flat-fan XR110 nozzles and hollow-cone nozzles, including conventional ATR80 and air-induction TVI80, covering a range of orifice sizes, were initially evaluated for clogging at a spray pressure of 1.0 MPa. Only small-orifice flat-fan nozzles showed clogging. Droplet size distribution of non-clogging nozzles with ISO 01 and 02 orifice sizes was assessed at spray pressures between 1.0 and 2 MPa, together with their effects on conidial spray efficiency (conidia μL^-1), conidial viability (%), and conidial infectivity (%) during application of a Beauveria bassiana-based product for the control of Ceratitis capitata. Nozzles showed different relationships between spray pressure and both conidial spray efficiency and viability loss. Small-droplet nozzles (XR110 and ATR80) achieved the highest efficiency. The XR110 nozzle showed the greatest viability loss across all pressures. Despite this, the ISO 02 XR110 nozzle resulted in the highest pest-control efficacy and EPF-confirmed mortality, comparable to those obtained with conventional and air-induction ISO 02 hollow-cone nozzles. The new parameter 'spray effectiveness' normalizes the biological outcome by the actual viable dose and provides insight into resource use efficiency, cost savings, and environmental impact.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Optimizing B. bassiana applications requires balancing clogging risk, droplet and deposition characteristics, conidial viability, and biological efficacy. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":"8584-8598"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453205/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147872734","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":"Efficacy of natural enemies against the tobacco thrips Thrips parvispinus (Karny) in laboratory and greenhouse studies.","authors":"Juliette Pijnakker, Dominiek Vangansbeke, Irma Iemma, Sam Dubbeldam, Felix Wäckers","doi":"10.1002/ps.70966","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ps.70966","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The tobacco thrips, Thrips parvispinus, is threatening greenhouse horticulture crops worldwide.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>In a laboratory trial, gravid females of Amblyseius swirskii, Amblydromalus limonicus, Neoseiulus cucumeris and Transeius montdorensis consumed between 2 and 3.5 first instars of the thrips daily. The predation rates of the phytoseiids tested were lower than those reported when the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis was provided as prey. This predation pattern was confirmed for A. swirskii in a separate trial. In a greenhouse cage trial with sweet pepper plants infested with tobacco thrips, A. swirskii, A. limonicus and N. cucumeris significantly reduced the pest numbers. However, in a commercial Ficus elastica Robusta crop, where A. swirskii and N. cucumeris were introduced weekly, no single predator proved to be sufficiently effective. Larger generalist predators, such as the lacewing Chrysoperla carnea, the predatory thrips Franklinothrips vespiformis, and the predatory bugs Orius laevigatus and Macrolophus pygmaeus were also tested. They reduced populations of tobacco thrips in a cage experiment on sweet pepper. Chrysoperla carnea and F. vespiformis were tested in a commercial Ficus greenhouse and reduced the pest population but were unable to eradicate it.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our results show that the tested mite and insect predators have potential to control tobacco thrips. More research on strategies involving preventative and curative releases of natural enemies, the combination of predatory mites with insect predators or with biopesticides, and the use of supplemental food sources will be needed to curb the spread and damage of T. parvispinus. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":"9216-9228"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453203/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148147586","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":"Design, synthesis, and quantitative structure-antifungal activity relationship of 1,2,4-oxadiazole-containing mappicine derivatives against phytopathogenic fungi.","authors":"Yining Lei, Chunxia Chen, Lihong Fan, Hanbao Zhang, Xinyu Zhou, Zhonghui Sun, Gongyuan Zhao, Lianxu Shi, Jinsong Peng","doi":"10.1002/ps.70922","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ps.70922","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Fungal diseases in crops have become a growing major threat to global agriculture, causing substantial yield and economic losses. To address the critical demand for effective antifungal agents against phytopathogenic fungi, a series of mappicine derivatives incorporating a 1,2,4-oxadiazole moiety were rationally designed and synthesized in this study using an active substructure fusion strategy, followed by systematic evaluation of their antifungal potential.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Bioassay results revealed that most derivatives exhibited broad-spectrum and potent antifungal activity, with exceptional efficacy against Rhizoctonia solani (R. solani). Among them, compound M-25 displayed the strongest antifungal activity against R. solani with an EC₅₀ value of 4.52 μg/mL, making it approximately 5.8 times more potent than the positive control azoxystrobin (EC₅₀ = 26.14 μg/mL). Further in vivo assessments demonstrated that M-25 provided protective (70.2%) and curative (33.0%) efficacy against R. solani, comparable to that of azoxystrobin (69.1 and 39.0%, respectively). Quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) modeling indicated that electronegativity and electronic effects critically influence antifungal activity. Mechanistic studies revealed that the primary antifungal mechanism against R. solani involved the severe disruption of mycelial morphology, the loss of cell membrane integrity, and the accumulation of intracellular reactive oxygen species.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study offers valuable insights for the development of mappicine-based antifungal agents for plant protection. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":"8747-8757"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453227/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147947347","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":"Integration of pheromonal signals and kairomonal cues in host-finding by the parasitoid Chouioia cunea.","authors":"Lina Pan, Yipeng Wei, Guangyan Qin, Yiping Hu, Shuxin Yao, Ziyi Pan, Zhiqin Song, Xiaoyu Li, Wenfang Gao, Zeyang Sun, Cuiqing Gao, Penghua Bai, Gengping Zhu, Min Li","doi":"10.1002/ps.70947","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ps.70947","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Infochemicals mediating intraspecific (pheromones) and interspecific (kairomones) interactions play critical roles in parasitoid host location. Yet how they interact to guide foraging behavior remains poorly understood. This study investigated chemical communication between the parasitoid wasp, Chouioia cunea and its host, the fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea, with a focus on the integration of conspecific signals and host-derived cues.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Volatile collection and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses identified 14 and five compounds from wasps and parasitized host pupae, respectively. Chouioia cunea females showed significant attraction to odors from both conspecific females and parasitized host pupae in behavioral assays conducted with a Y-tube olfactometer. Further, wasps showed electroantennographic responses to 18 of the 19 identified compounds, as well as attraction to their synthetic blend. However, female wasps showed strong oviposition preference for unparasitized over parasitized pupae.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These results demonstrate that C. cunea integrates conspecific pheromones and host-derived kairomones to guide host location, but uses additional cues for oviposition, to avoid superparasitism. These findings provide new insight into parasitoid chemical ecology and serve as a basis for developing improved attractants for biological control. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":"9015-9024"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453263/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148142292","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":"Catalases act as putative oral secretion effectors in Tuta absoluta, suppressing tomato oxidative defenses and providing safe RNAi targets for pest control.","authors":"Li Yang, Deqian Liu, Shizhi Liu, Zhuting Zhang, Kangkang Xu, Guy Smagghe, Wenjia Yang","doi":"10.1002/ps.70884","DOIUrl":"10.1002/ps.70884","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Tuta absoluta is a globally destructive invasive Solanaceae pest with widespread resistance to conventional insecticides, highlighting the urgent need for eco-friendly and sustainable control strategies. Catalase (CAT) is a key antioxidant enzyme that primarily scavenges intracellular hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) to maintain redox homeostasis. CATs have also been detected in the oral secretions (OSs) of some herbivorous insects, suggesting an additional extracellular role in manipulating plant defense during feeding making CATs innovative targets for pest management. Here, we systematically identified CATs in Tuta absoluta and evaluated their functions and suitability as RNA interference (RNAi) targets.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Nine CATs were identified, with TaCAT1-TaCAT3 clustered phylogenetically with known insect OS-associated CATs. These genes showed high expression in larval heads and guts, induced by tomato feeding, indicating roles at the insect-plant interface. Silencing these CATs significantly impaired larval performance: individual double-stranded RNAs (dsRNAs) caused 69% mortality, while combined targeting (dsCAT-mix) achieved 80% mortality, accompanied by reduced pupation and smaller pupae. Functionally, CAT silencing induced tomato leaves H₂O₂ accumulation, and activated jasmonic acid pathway while suppressing salicylic acid signaling. These results demonstrate that CATs facilitate larval feeding by suppressing plant oxidative and hormonal defenses. Importantly, dsCAT treatments had no negative effects on predator Nesidiocoris tenuis, underscoring biosafety and specificity.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These findings uncover a previously underappreciated role of CATs as putative OS effectors in a lepidopteran pest, validating them as effective, selective, and eco-friendly RNAi targets. This work provides mechanistic insight into insect-plant interactions and a practical foundation for sustainable RNAi-based strategies against Tuta absoluta. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.</p>","PeriodicalId":218,"journal":{"name":"Pest Management Science","volume":" ","pages":"8370-8381"},"PeriodicalIF":4.2,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC13453169/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147809096","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}