Promises and challenges in insect-plant interactions

Plant polyploidy and insect/plant interactions.

We used flow cytometry and extensive geographic surveys of herbivore attack to test whether repeated evolution of autotetraploidy in the perennial herb Heuchera grossulariifolia Rydb. (Saxifragaceae) has created evolutionary barriers to attack by the specialist moth herbivore Greya politella (Prodoxidae). We found that the moth has colonized tetraploid as well as diploid populations, has coloni...

Plant–insect Interactions and Pollution

PLANT–MICROBE–INSECT INTERACTIONS: Cytokinins as key regulators in plant–microbe–insect interactions: connecting plant growth and defence

David Giron*, Enric Frago, Ga€ elle Glevarec, Corn e M. J. Pieterse and Marcel Dicke Institut de Recherche sur la Biologie de l’Insecte, UMR 7261, CNRS – Universit e Franc ois-Rabelais, Tours, France; Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PS UK; Biomol ecules et Biotechnologies V eg etales, EA 2106 Universit e Franc ois-Rabelais, Tours, France; Plant-Microb...

Cyanogenic glucosides and plant-insect interactions.

Cyanogenic glucosides are phytoanticipins known to be present in more than 2500 plant species. They are considered to have an important role in plant defense against herbivores due to bitter taste and release of toxic hydrogen cyanide upon tissue disruption. Some specialized herbivores, especially insects, preferentially feed on cyanogenic plants. Such herbivores have acquired the ability to me...

Maternal Effects in Insect-Plant Interactions:

Maternal effects occur when the phenotype or environment of a mother affects the phenotype of her offspring via some mechanism other than the transmission of genes. The primary objective of this review is to use examples from my own research on the interaction between seed beetles and their host plants to illustrate how maternal effects influence ecological interactions in nature. I explain how...