Insect eggs represent a threat for the plant as hatching larvae rapidly start with their feeding activity. Using a whole-genome microarray, we studied the expression profile of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) leaves after oviposition by two pierid butterflies. For Pieris brassicae, the deposition of egg batches changed the expression of hundreds of genes over a period of 3 d after ovipositio...

Specific gene functions have been successfully suppressed by gene silencing or editing in many organisms. However, genetic manipulation to suppress the function of a target tissue has not been achieved using genes such as cytotoxin family members. We established transgenic silkworms with posterior silk glands (PSGs) that express the enzymatic domain of the cytotoxin pierisin-1A (P1A), a recentl...

Pinoresinol, a lignan of wide distribution in plants, is found to occur as a minor component in the defensive secretion produced by glandular hairs of caterpillars of the cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae. The compound or a derivative is appropriated by the larva from its normal food plant (the cabbage, Brassica oleracea). Pinoresinol was shown to be absent from the secretion if the larva was giv...

Color ornaments are often viewed as products of countervailing sexual and natural selection, because more colorful, more attractive individuals may also be more conspicuous to predators. However, while evidence for such countervailing selection exists for vertebrate color ornaments (e.g., Trinidadian guppies), similar studies have yet to be reported in invertebrates. Indeed, evidence for female...

Nutritional enhancement of crops using genetic engineering can potentially affect herbivorous pests. Recently, oilseed crops have been genetically engineered to produce the long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) at levels similar to that found in fish oil; to provide a more sustainable source of these compounds than is currentl...

Caterpillar feeding induces direct and indirect defences in brassicaceous plants. This study focused on the role of the octadecanoid pathway in induced indirect defence in Brassica oleracea. The effect of induction by exogenous application of jasmonic acid (JA) on the responses of Brussels sprouts plants and on host-location behaviour of associated parasitoid wasps was studied. Feeding by the b...