Plant proteinase inhibitors (PIs) have been well established to play a potent defensive role against predators and pathogens. Although diverse endogenous functions for these proteins has been proposed, ranging from regulators of endogenous proteinases to act as storage proteins, evidence for many of these roles is partial, or confined to isolated examples. On the other hand, many PIs have been ...

Indirect competition is often mediated by plant responses to herbivore feeding damage and is common among phytophagous insect species. Plant-mediated responses may be altered by abiotic conditions such as nutrient supply, which can affect plant growth, morphology, and the concentration of primary and secondary metabolites. Nutrient supply can be manipulated by the type and amount of fertilizer ...

New hosts and parasitism notes for the mite Leptus (Acari: Erythraeidae) in Brazil. Larval erythraeid mites are common ectoparasites of harvestmen (Opiliones). Studies describing insects as potential hosts have received little attention. Specimens of an undescribed species of the genus Leptus were collected in association with predatory and phytophagous Heteroptera bugs in a secondary forest in...

We review the world literature on leafhoppers (Cicadellidae) that have probed human skin, update the names presented in those published reports, and sort out which are original accounts and which are citations of previous reports (Table 1). We add 19 new records, representing five subfamilies, and at least 13 genera, all from Panama (Table 2). We speculate as to why these normally phytophagous ...

"The aim of the present work is to determine harmful and beneficial insects associated with tomato greenhouse cultivation in arid region El-Outaya (Biskra, Algeria). Insect trapping was conducted using yellow water plates glue traps. Faunistic data have revealed presence 2754 individuals distributed on seven orders, 33 families 38 species insects. From specific point view, majority these were r...

Determining the macroevolutionary importance of plant chemistry on herbivore host shifts is critical to understanding the evolution of insect-plant interactions. Molecular phylogenies of the ancient and speciose Blepharida (Coleoptera)-Bursera (Burseraceae) system were reconstructed and terpenoid chemical profiles for the plant species obtained. Statistical analyses show that the historical pat...

Although phytophagous insects and plant pathogens frequently share the same host plant, interactions among such phylogenetically distant taxa have received limited attention. Here, we place pathogens and insects in the context of a multitrophic-level community. Focusing on the invasive powdery mildew Erysiphe alphitoides and the insect community on oak (Quercus robur), we demonstrate that milde...

As part of their defense mechanism against herbivores or phytophagous insects, many plant tissues contain lectins. Some of these lectins are potent toxins which kill animal cells by arresting protein synthesis. An attractive strategy for developing specifically cytotoxic chemotherapeutic agents is to link cell type-specific monoclonal antibodies to potent toxins. The plant protein ricin has eme...