Chamani Masoud, Dadpour MohammadReza, Dehghanian Zahra, Panahirad Sima, Chenari Bouket Ali, Oszako Tomasz, Kumar Sumit
Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil 56199-11367, Iran.
Department of Horticultural Sciences, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Tabriz, Tabriz 51666-14838, Iran.
Insects. 2025 Apr 7;16(4):392. doi: 10.3390/insects16040392.
This review provides an in-depth examination of the intricate interactions between plant metabolites and the digestive and antioxidative enzymes in insects, highlighting their essential roles in shaping insect herbivory and adaptation strategies. Plants have evolved a diverse arsenal of secondary metabolites to defend against herbivorous insects, which, in response, have developed sophisticated adaptations to overcome these defenses and efficiently exploit plant resources. We outline the importance of digestive enzymes, such as proteases and amylases, which allow insects to break down complex plant compounds and access vital nutrients. Additionally, the review focuses on antioxidative enzymes in the insect midgut, including superoxide dismutase and catalase, which play a crucial role in mitigating oxidative stress generated during digestion and other metabolic processes. Synthesizing findings from various studies, this review also considers how environmental factors, such as heavy metal exposure and temperature changes, influence these enzymes' activity levels. It highlights the dual function of antioxidative enzymes in detoxifying harmful plant-derived compounds while preserving cellular stability. The implications of these biochemical interactions for pest management are discussed, with an emphasis on the potential for developing biopesticides that target specific enzymatic pathways to disrupt insect feeding and growth. By elucidating the biochemical mechanisms that underlie plant-insect interactions, this review enhances our understanding of co-evolutionary dynamics and offers insights into sustainable agricultural practices that could leverage these interactions for effective pest control. Finally, the review proposes future research directions aimed at identifying novel plant metabolites with enzyme-modulating properties and exploring the ecological impacts of enzyme-targeted pest management approaches.
本综述深入探讨了植物代谢产物与昆虫消化酶和抗氧化酶之间的复杂相互作用，突出了它们在塑造昆虫食草行为和适应策略中的重要作用。植物进化出了多种多样的次生代谢产物来抵御食草昆虫，而昆虫则相应地发展出了复杂的适应机制来克服这些防御并有效地利用植物资源。我们概述了蛋白酶和淀粉酶等消化酶的重要性，这些酶使昆虫能够分解复杂的植物化合物并获取重要营养物质。此外，该综述重点关注昆虫中肠中的抗氧化酶，包括超氧化物歧化酶和过氧化氢酶，它们在减轻消化和其他代谢过程中产生的氧化应激方面起着至关重要的作用。综合各项研究的结果，本综述还考虑了重金属暴露和温度变化等环境因素如何影响这些酶的活性水平。它强调了抗氧化酶在解毒有害植物衍生化合物同时保持细胞稳定性方面的双重功能。讨论了这些生化相互作用对害虫管理的影响，重点是开发针对特定酶途径以破坏昆虫取食和生长的生物农药的潜力。通过阐明植物 - 昆虫相互作用背后的生化机制，本综述增进了我们对共同进化动态的理解，并为可持续农业实践提供了见解，这些实践可以利用这些相互作用进行有效的害虫控制。最后，该综述提出了未来的研究方向，旨在识别具有酶调节特性的新型植物代谢产物，并探索酶靶向害虫管理方法的生态影响。
