Zeng Guang, Zhang Tao, Yue Wen-Bo, Tian Shan-Jun, Cao Yu, Ye Mao, Zhi Jun-Rui
Institute of Entomology, Guizhou University, The Provincial Key Laboratory for Agricultural Pest Management of the Mountainous Region, Guiyang, China.
Department of Resources and Environment, Moutai Institute, Renhuai, China.
Pest Manag Sci. 2025 Jan;81(1):220-229. doi: 10.1002/ps.8424. Epub 2024 Sep 20.
The western flower thrips (WFT), Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), is a significant pest in horticulture and ornamental agriculture. While exogenous calcium (Ca) has been shown to confer plant immune responses against thrips, the detailed mechanisms of this interaction remain to be elucidated for improved thrips management strategies. This study aimed to assess the impact of exogenous Ca on WFT feeding behavior and to explore its role in enhancing the defense mechanisms of kidney bean plants against WFT attacks. We compared WFT feeding preferences and efficiency on kidney bean plants treated with HO or Ca, and examined whether exogenous Ca improves plant defense responses to thrips attack.
WFT exhibited less preference for feeding on Ca-treated plants over HO-treated ones. The total duration of WFT's long-ingestion probes was significantly reduced on Ca-treated plants, indicating impaired feeding efficiency. Furthermore, WFT infestation activated both jasmonic acid (JA) and salicylic acid (SA) signaling pathways in kidney bean plants, and exogenous Ca application led to elevated levels of endogenous Ca and CaM, up-regulation of genes associated with JA and SA pathways (LOX, AOS, PAL, and β-1,3-glucanase), and increased accumulation of JA, SA, flavonoids, and alkaloids.
Our findings demonstrate that the application of exogenous Ca enhances endogenous Ca, JA, and SA signaling pathways in kidney bean plants. This enhancement results in an up-regulation of the biosynthesis of flavonoid and alkaloid, thereby equipping the plants with an enhanced defense against WFT infestation. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry.
西花蓟马（Frankliniella occidentalis，缨翅目：蓟马科）是园艺和观赏农业中的一种重要害虫。虽然外源钙（Ca）已被证明能赋予植物对蓟马的免疫反应，但这种相互作用的详细机制仍有待阐明，以改进蓟马管理策略。本研究旨在评估外源钙对西花蓟马取食行为的影响，并探讨其在增强菜豆植株对西花蓟马攻击的防御机制中的作用。我们比较了西花蓟马在经水或钙处理的菜豆植株上的取食偏好和效率，并研究了外源钙是否能改善植株对蓟马攻击的防御反应。
与经水处理的植株相比，西花蓟马对经钙处理的植株的取食偏好较低。在经钙处理的植株上，西花蓟马长时间取食探针的总时长显著缩短，表明取食效率受损。此外，西花蓟马的侵害激活了菜豆植株中的茉莉酸（JA）和水杨酸（SA）信号通路，外源钙的施用导致内源钙和钙调蛋白水平升高，与JA和SA通路相关的基因（LOX、AOS、PAL和β-1,3-葡聚糖酶）上调，JA、SA、类黄酮和生物碱的积累增加。
我们的研究结果表明，外源钙的施用增强了菜豆植株中的内源钙、JA和SA信号通路。这种增强导致类黄酮和生物碱生物合成的上调，从而使植株对西花蓟马的侵害具有更强的防御能力。© 2024化学工业协会。
