Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology最新文献

{"title":"Molecular Recognition of Odorant-Binding Proteins WmagOBP39280 and WmagOBP42531 to Wohlfahrtia magnifica Pheromones and Bactrian Camel Volatiles","authors":"Yuting Bai,&nbsp;Leifen Li,&nbsp;Wuri Han,&nbsp;Huar Bao,&nbsp;Bin Yang,&nbsp;Baoxiang Han,&nbsp;Haobo Li,&nbsp;Yaning Li,&nbsp;Demtu Er","doi":"10.1002/arch.70205","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.70205","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p><i>Wohlfahrtia magnifica</i>, a worldwide pest, causes myiasis in many domestic animals. Its pheromones and volatiles from Bactrian camels were reported to attract or repel <i>W. magnifica</i>, but the molecular mechanisms are still unclear. A small protein in the insect olfactory system, called odorant binding protein (OBP), plays a crucial role in odor reception. In this study, two <i>W. magnifica</i> odorant-binding proteins (WmagOBPs) genes, WmagOBP42531 and WmagOBP39280, were cloned from the antennae of <i>W. magnifica</i>, and then expressed and purified by prokaryotic expression. Fluorescence binding assays demonstrated that WmagOBP39280 exhibits high binding affinity to methylheptenone, butylbutyrate, <i>p-</i>ethylacetophenone, acetophenone (<i>K</i>_<i>i</i>: 4.69, 4.15, 3.48, 4.06), while WmagOBP42531 exhibits high binding affinity to <i>p-</i>ethylacetophenone and dipentene (<i>K</i>_<i>i</i>: 4.85, 4.98) and moderate binding to methylheptenone, 1-octene-3-ol, acetophenone, ethylbenzene. <i>o</i>-xylene (<i>K</i>_<i>i</i>: 7.00, 5.96, 5.72, 7.86, 6.15). Molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation results suggest that a stable complex could be formed between WmagOBP42531 and 1-octene-3-ol, acetophenone, <i>p</i>-ethylacetophenone, or <i>o</i>-xylene; between WmagOBP39280 and acetophenone, butylbutyrate, <i>p</i>-ethylacetophenone, or methylheptenone, with Gibbs free energy (ΔG) ranging from −26.84 to −14.7 kcal/mol. RMSD, RMSF, and radius of gyration suggested the spontaneous binding of WmagOBP42531 and WmagOBP39280 to odor ligands.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8281,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology","volume":"122 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148753809","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Transient Expression of Bta78 Gene in Nicotiana benthamiana Enhances Whitefly Feeding Activity","authors":"Muhammad Qasim Aslam,&nbsp;Shahid Mansoor,&nbsp;Georg Jander","doi":"10.1002/arch.70204","DOIUrl":"10.1002/arch.70204","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p><i>Bemisia tabaci</i> damages crop plants by sucking plant sap and transmitting economically important viruses. For both processes, whitefly saliva plays an important role in establishing successful feeding contact. This study evaluated the effect of the <i>Bta78</i> gene on whitefly survival, fecundity, and feeding activity by transiently expressing it in <i>Nicotiana benthamiana</i> plants using a Turnip mosaic virus (TuMV) expression vector. The <i>Bta78</i> gene encodes phosphatidylethanolamine-binding protein (PEBP), previously reported as a <i>B. tabaci</i> salivary protein. A two-fold increase in whitefly feeding activity, measured by honeydew secretion, was observed on <i>Bta78</i>-expressing plants compared with green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing TuMV-GFP control plants. By contrast, no significant effects on whitefly survival or fecundity were detected. In this study, vitellogenin, a well-conserved protein in the insect phylum associated with insect fecundity, was used as a positive control. Whiteflies exposed to vitellogenin-expressing plants exhibited a 2–2.5-fold increase in egg production relative to those infesting TuMV-GFP control plants. To the best of our knowledge, these results provide the first evidence that the PEBP-domain-carrying salivary protein Bta78 promotes whitefly feeding.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8281,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology","volume":"122 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148705346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Characterization and Seasonal Expression Profiling of a Takeout/Juvenile Hormone-Binding Protein-Family Gene Associated With Diapause in Eurygaster integriceps","authors":"Behnaz Farhadi,&nbsp;Azam Amiri,&nbsp;Houshang Alizadeh,&nbsp;Ali R. Bandani","doi":"10.1002/arch.70203","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.70203","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Diapause in the Sunn pest, <i>Eurygaster integriceps</i>, is a key seasonal adaptation associated with migration, overwintering survival, and reproductive timing. However, the molecular components associated with this physiological state remain poorly characterized in this hemipteran pest. In this study, we identified and characterized a takeout-family transcript from <i>E. integriceps</i> (EiTO1; GenBank OP913374.1) and combined evolutionary, structural, and expression analyses to examine its association with seasonal physiological states. EiTO1 contained a 738-bp open reading frame encoding a 245-amino acid protein and was assigned to the juvenile hormone-binding protein (JHBP) superfamily based on conserved-domain analysis. Phylogenetic reconstruction recovered EiTO1 as sister to the <i>Nilaparvata lugens</i>–<i>Bemisia tabaci</i> clade; however, the low bootstrap support for this placement prevented confident inference of its closest evolutionary relationship. Structural comparison of the predicted EiTO1 model with experimentally resolved takeout/JHBP-family proteins indicated a conserved barrel-like fold and a corresponding internal cavity, consistent with structural features of this protein family. Quantitative PCR profiling revealed marked seasonal and tissue-specific variation in EiTO1 expression. In female whole-body samples, EiTO1 transcript abundance was low during spring field activity and in newly emerged adults sampled in June, reached its maximum during the refuge-associated phase in August (160-fold), and showed a secondary increase during the late-overwintering/premigration transition in March (21.5-fold). Tissue-resolved assays in females showed the highest expression in the head and intermediate expression in the fat body. Ovarian expression remained at or below the April baseline at most sampling points but showed a transient increase in August. Together, these findings identify EiTO1 as a takeout/JHBP-family gene whose expression is associated with seasonal physiological transitions in <i>E. integriceps</i>.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8281,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology","volume":"122 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148647691","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Salivary Proteins of Whitefly Bemisia tabaci Modulate Plant Defenses by Activating SA Signaling Pathway","authors":"Haifang He,&nbsp;Long Liu,&nbsp;Shuixiang Xie,&nbsp;Baozheng Shi,&nbsp;Jialei Liu,&nbsp;Guangliang Lu,&nbsp;Jingjing Li,&nbsp;Chenchen Zhao,&nbsp;Lin Niu,&nbsp;Rune Bai,&nbsp;Caiyan Lei,&nbsp;Menghan He,&nbsp;Qingbo Tang,&nbsp;Fengming Yan","doi":"10.1002/arch.70202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.70202","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The whitefly <i>Bemisia tabaci</i> is an infamous agricultural pest that inflicts significant harm on crops globally by directly feeding on them and indirectly transmitting viruses. Although it is believed that whiteflies inject saliva into their host plants to modulate plant defenses, however, due to their small size, study on the salivary proteome of whiteflies is still sparse and the roles of many salivary proteins remain elusive. This research employed four-dimensional data-independent acquisition (4D DIA) based proteomic techniques to analyze whitefly secreted saliva. In total, 2625 salivary proteins were identified. Bioinformatic analysis results showed that the secreted saliva proteins may play roles in hydrolysis, transport, protein binding and metabolism, and significantly increased the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT) activities as well as malondialdehyde (MDA), soluble sugars (SS), soluble protein (SP), and proline (PRO) in cucumbers. The expression of the salicylic acid (SA) response genes (<i>PR1a</i>, <i>PR3</i>, and <i>PR5</i>) were significantly induced. Additionally, exogenous methyl-salicylate (MeSA) treatment of cucumbers can significantly reduce the reproductive capacity and survival rate of whiteflies, and decrease the preference of whiteflies for host plants. This study's outcomes provide valuable insights into the interaction between plants and insects. It has been proved that the salivary proteins of whitefly participate in host plant defense responses by activating the SA signaling pathway, and provides basic data on the functional study of whitefly saliva elicitors and effectors, which can be used for development of novel strategies for pest management.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8281,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology","volume":"122 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148647747","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Neuroprotective Potential of Spermidine in Drosophila sws Neurodegenerative Model","authors":"Anastasiia Raspopina,&nbsp;Marta Tkachuk,&nbsp;Nataliya Matiytsiv","doi":"10.1002/arch.70201","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.70201","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Neurodegenerative disorders are characterized by progressive neuronal loss and functional decline, yet effective interventions remain limited. The polyamine spermidine was suggested to exert neuroprotective effects, but its concentration-dependent impact on longevity, neuronal integrity, and behavior remains still not well studied. Here, we investigated the effects of spermidine on lifespan, behavioral responses, brain tissue, target gene expression, and antioxidant status in <i>Drosophila melanogaster</i> model of age-dependent neurodegeneration. Wild-type flies and <i>swiss cheese (sws</i>¹<i>)</i> mutants were exposed to 0.5, 1, and 5 mM spermidine from early adulthood. Lifespan analysis revealed that high-dose spermidine (5 mM) reduced survival in both wild-type and <i>sws¹</i> mutants, whereas lower doses (0.5 and 1 mM) significantly improved survival in mutants without affecting wild-type flies. Behavioral assays revealed that <i>sws</i>^<i>1</i> flies exhibited reduced climbing ability compared to controls, which was further decreased at 5 mM. Lower concentrations did not significantly affect locomotor performance. Taste preference for trehalose, impaired in untreated <i>sws¹</i> mutants, was partially restored by spermidine at all tested concentrations. Histological analysis of 10–13-day-old mutants showed a concentration-dependent reduction in degeneration zones within the lamina and medulla at 0.5 and 1 mM, whereas 5 mM had no effect. Biochemical assays indicated mild pro-oxidant effects at 5 mM, reflected by increased malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, while 0.5 mM enhanced antioxidant defenses, including catalase activity and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC). Our results suggest that spermidine at low doses has the potential to be a general-purpose neuroprotector.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8281,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology","volume":"122 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148647692","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Valorization of Ficus carica Pruning Residues as Selective Botanical Insecticides: Optimized Furanocoumarin Extraction, Efficacy Against Neotropical Stink Bugs, and Mechanistic Insights via Molecular Docking","authors":"Thais A. Almeida,&nbsp;Arley R. Páez,&nbsp;Lara T. M. Costa,&nbsp;Guy Smagghe,&nbsp;Yara M. Cardoso,&nbsp;Letícia M. Faria,&nbsp;Eugênio E. Oliveira,&nbsp;João Paulo V. Leite","doi":"10.1002/arch.70200","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.70200","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The Neotropical stink bugs <i>Euschistus heros</i> and <i>Diceraeus melacanthus</i> are major pests of soybean and maize in South America, yet current chemical control strategies face widespread resistance, highlighting the urgent need for sustainable alternatives. This study investigates <i>Ficus carica</i> pruning residues as a source of selective botanical insecticides, integrating optimized extraction, phytochemical profiling, bioassays, and molecular modeling. Eight extracts were prepared under varying solvent, temperature, and acidity conditions, and analyzed for total phenolic content (TPC) and the key furanocoumarins psoralen and bergapten. Acidification enhanced overall mass yields, while mild ethanol extraction at room temperature selectively maximized furanocoumarin recovery, yielding psoralen concentrations up to 14.83 mg g⁻¹, which is substantially higher than previously reported in leaves or fruit. Biological evaluation of the optimized ethanolic extract (ERA) revealed strong insecticidal activity, with 86% mortality of <i>E. heros</i> and 40% of <i>D. melacanthus</i> nymphs at 48 h, and a calculated LC₅₀ of 1232 mg L⁻¹ for <i>E. heros</i>. The differential susceptibility between species suggests both metabolic and cuticular factors influence efficacy. Computational docking and phylogenetic analyses suggested a potential mechanistic basis for the observed selectivity: furanocoumarins are predicted to bind hemipteran AChE via a compensatory polar scaffold, whereas binding to <i>Apis mellifera</i> AChE is predicted to be weaker due to lineage-specific differences in aromatic density within the catalytic gorge, potentially explaining the minimal off-target susceptibility. The molecular modeling results characterize these compounds as low-affinity, reversible inhibitors, combining effective pest control with a favorable safety profile for pollinators. The present work demonstrates that valorizing agro-industrial waste from <i>F. carica</i> can yield potent, selective, and environmentally safer insecticidal agents. The integration of extraction optimization, biological evaluation, and molecular modeling provides a robust framework for developing sustainable botanical insecticides, advancing circular economy principles in pest management and offering promising alternatives to synthetic neurotoxins.</p>","PeriodicalId":8281,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology","volume":"122 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/arch.70200","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148647746","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"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":"Brain Transcriptomic Reprogramming and Comb-Associated Microbiome Variation During the Larva-To-Pupa Transition in Apis Mellifera","authors":"Amir Taldaev,&nbsp;Daniil Smutin,&nbsp;Lavrentii Danilov,&nbsp;Grigory Kashchenko,&nbsp;Aleksandra Ryabova,&nbsp;Leonid Adonin","doi":"10.1002/arch.70196","DOIUrl":"10.1002/arch.70196","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The larva-to-pupa transition in honey bees (<i>Apis mellifera</i>) involves extensive neural remodeling, yet the molecular dynamics of brain development and their relationship with the surrounding microbial environment remain poorly characterized. This study integrated brain transcriptomic profiling with comb-associated metagenomic analysis to characterize stage-specific molecular signatures during metamorphosis. RNA sequencing of larval and pupal brains was combined with honeycomb shotgun metagenomics from the same sample. Brain transcriptomes exhibited marked stage-specific divergence. Pupae displayed downregulation of transcriptional regulators, ecdysone and insulin signaling, and growth-related pathways, alongside upregulation of cuticular proteins, glutathione metabolism, and odorant-binding proteins. Notably, numerous poorly annotated, lineage-specific loci showed extreme stage-specific regulation. In contrast, comb-associated microbial communities remained globally stable across developmental stages, though supervised ordination identified stage-discriminatory taxa, including core symbionts and opportunistic pathogens. Integrative network analysis revealed significant correlations between comb potential bee pathogens' abundances and brain transcripts involved in translation, stress response, and metabolic regulation. Our data suggest that honey bee neural maturation is primarily driven by intrinsic transcriptional reprogramming, while structured variation in the external microbial milieu correlates with host neural gene expression. Honeycomb microbiome shift should be the consequence of the environmental conditions changes and host developmental shifts. Their roles in that process, as well as the brood immune system-comb microbiome interactions, may be part of future research.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8281,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology","volume":"122 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148590243","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"HcEcR Regulates Chitin Biosynthesis via 20E Signaling Rather Than Direct Transcriptional Activation in Hyphantria cunea Larvae","authors":"Zixin Dong,&nbsp;Xin Gao,&nbsp;Yi Li,&nbsp;Shaoping Wu,&nbsp;Ze Wang,&nbsp;Shengyu Zhang,&nbsp;Chuanshan Zou","doi":"10.1002/arch.70197","DOIUrl":"10.1002/arch.70197","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>The ecdysone receptor (EcR) is a key subunit of the heterodimeric EcR-USP (ultraspiracle) receptor, whose role in insect growth and development has been well established. In contrast, its role in regulating chitin biosynthesis, particularly at transcriptional level received less attention. Here, we identified the EcR from <i>Hyphantria cunea</i> and investigated its roles in larval growth and development, particularly in chitin biosynthesis, via dsRNA-mediated <i>HcEcR</i> knockdown. Bioassays showed that silencing of <i>HcEcR</i> significantly increased larval mortality and caused developmental defects in <i>H. cunea</i>. Meanwhile, <i>HcEcR</i> knockdown significantly downregulated the expression of genes in the chitin biosynthetic pathway. The yeast one-hybrid (Y1H) assay indicated that HcEcR alone did not interact with the <i>HcCHSA</i> or <i>HcHK2</i> promoters, suggesting that, independent of HcUSP, HcEcR might not transcriptionally regulate chitin biosynthesis pathway genes. Additionally, <i>HcEcR</i> knockdown significantly suppressed the expression of 20E-induced response genes, but dramatically increased glucose, trehalose and glycogen levels in <i>H. cunea</i> larvae. Overall, HcEcR was pivotal for the growth, molting and chitin biosynthesis in <i>H. cunea</i> larvae. Meanwhile, <i>HcEcR</i> knockdown suppressed epidermal chitin synthesis probably by downregulating 20E signaling in <i>H. cunea</i> larvae. Furthermore, inhibiting chitin synthesis might reduce substrate consumption for chitin synthesis, thereby resulting in an increase of carbohydrate levels in the larvae. Moreover, HcEcR alone might not transcriptionally regulate chitin biosynthetic pathway genes. The findings provide novel insights into the physiological role of EcR in chitin biosynthesis and identify potential molecular targets for pest control.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8281,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology","volume":"122 4","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148590308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Temporal Dynamics of Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Phosphorylation and Associated Signaling Genes During Embryonic Development in Bombyx mori","authors":"Shi-Hong Gu","doi":"10.1002/arch.70194","DOIUrl":"10.1002/arch.70194","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This study investigated the temporal dynamics of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylation, together with the expression profiles of its putative upstream ligands and downstream target genes, during embryonic development in <i>Bombyx mori</i>. The results revealed distinct ERK phosphorylation dynamics: significantly higher levels of phosphorylated ERK were observed between Days 1 and 6 after oviposition in developing eggs (non-diapause and HCl-treated eggs), whereas diapause eggs exhibited low levels. The temporal expression patterns of genes in the prothoracicotropic hormone (PTTH)/torso and epidermal growth factor (EGF) signaling pathways—<i>spitz</i> (<i>spi</i>), <i>rhomboid</i> (<i>rho</i>), and <i>Egf receptor</i> (<i>Egfr</i>)—did not differ between diapause and HCl-treated eggs. In contrast, the EGF pathway gene <i>vein</i> (<i>vn</i>) and genes in the transforming growth factor (TGF)-β signaling pathway—including the ligand <i>myoglianin</i> (<i>myo</i>) and its receptor <i>babo</i>—displayed distinct temporal expression patterns. Similarly, <i>Jelly belly</i> (<i>Jeb</i>)/<i>anaplastic lymphoma kinase</i> (<i>Alk</i>), <i>fibroblast growth factor (Fgf)</i>/<i>Fgf receptor (Fgfr)</i>, <i>neurotrophin</i> (<i>NT</i>), and Toll-receptor ligands (spätzle family members (<i>spz2</i>, <i>spz4</i>, and <i>spz5</i>)) showed differential expression, with levels significantly elevated during the middle and late stages of embryonic development in HCl-treated eggs. Non-diapause and chilled eggs also exhibited increasing expression patterns of these genes, similar to those observed in HCl-treated eggs. Additionally, ERK target genes <i>pointed</i> and <i>huckebein</i> (<i>hkb</i>) showed higher and broader expression peaks in developing eggs compared to diapause eggs. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of the transcriptional regulation of upstream and downstream ERK signaling components during embryonic development and reveals new insights into the mechanisms underlying embryonic diapause.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8281,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology","volume":"122 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148497065","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Efficacy of Select Gene Targets for the Management of Western Flower Thrips Through RNA Interference","authors":"C. M. Senthil Kumar,&nbsp;Ritesh G. Jain,&nbsp;Stephen J. Fletcher,&nbsp;Neena Mitter,&nbsp;Karl E. Robinson","doi":"10.1002/arch.70193","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/arch.70193","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Western flower thrips (WFT) <i>Frankliniella occidentalis</i> cause extensive damage to crops either by direct feeding injury or by transmitting diseases. Current management strategies against this pest rely heavily on synthetic insecticides, leading to issues such as resistance development and environmental concerns. Several safer alternatives including RNA interference (RNAi), also referred to as post-transcriptional gene silencing (PTGS), are being extensively researched to develop species-specific molecular pesticides for the management of this pest. However, the success of RNAi depends on the selection of lethal targets and the delivery of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) to the target pest. In this study, we demonstrate the uptake of dsRNA by WFT through artificial diet feeding and its distribution within the insect. Several candidate gene targets were evaluated, leading to the identification of promising RNAi targets for thrips management. In addition, dsRNA production was successfully standardized using a recombinant bacterial expression system for large-scale applications. We also observed degradation of naked dsRNA following feeding, likely due to nuclease activity associated with thrips feeding processes, highlighting a key limitation for RNAi efficacy. Overall, our findings support the potential of RNAi as a targeted pest management strategy for WFT. The results emphasize the importance of strategic gene selection, improved delivery systems, and scalable dsRNA production for the development of effective RNAi-based molecular biopesticides.</p>","PeriodicalId":8281,"journal":{"name":"Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology","volume":"122 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2026-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/arch.70193","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148467234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}