Shangguan Lingna, Chen Ronzhen, Zhang Yu, Ye Shujuan, Hong Chentao, Cui Hongmin, Yu Haohua, Zuo Chongkun, Pan Junheng, Hu Jiayi, Feng Mingfeng, Li Jia, Tao Xiaorong, Zhu Min
Department of Plant Pathology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, China.
Mol Plant Pathol. 2025 Jun;26(6):e70112. doi: 10.1111/mpp.70112.
Western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) are among the most significant invasive pests worldwide. In addition to causing direct plant damage, they transmit tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) (species Orthotospovirus tomatomaculae; genus Orthotospovirus), a member of the genus Orthotospovirus. Although numerous studies have examined virus-insect-host plant interactions, research on the TSWV-thrips-plant tripartite interaction remains limited. In this study, we found that F. occidentalis can induce plant defence responses. FoCSP1, a chemosensory protein from F. occidentalis, was identified as a salivary elicitor capable of inducing serial plant defence responses in Nicotiana benthamiana. Our results revealed that the FoCSP1-induced plant defence responses did not affect thrips feeding preference but significantly inhibited both offspring and egg production. Moreover, TSWV impairs these defence responses through its encoded proteins, N and NSs, thereby alleviating the FoCSP1-mediated suppression of thrips offspring and egg production. Collectively, these findings indicate that TSWV promotes the offspring and egg production of its thrips vector by inhibiting plant defences induced by FoCSP1, providing new insights into the TSWV-thrips-plant tripartite interaction.
西花蓟马（Frankliniella occidentalis）是全球最重要的入侵害虫之一。除了对植物造成直接损害外，它们还传播番茄斑萎病毒（TSWV）（番茄斑萎正番茄病毒种；正番茄病毒属），该病毒属于正番茄病毒属。尽管众多研究已经考察了病毒 - 昆虫 - 寄主植物之间的相互作用，但关于TSWV - 蓟马 - 植物三方相互作用的研究仍然有限。在本研究中，我们发现西花蓟马能够诱导植物防御反应。FoCSP1是一种来自西花蓟马的化学感受蛋白，被鉴定为一种唾液激发子，能够在本氏烟草中诱导一系列植物防御反应。我们的结果表明，FoCSP1诱导的植物防御反应不影响蓟马的取食偏好，但显著抑制了后代数量和产卵量。此外，TSWV通过其编码的蛋白质N和NSs损害这些防御反应，从而减轻FoCSP1介导的对蓟马后代和产卵量的抑制。总的来说，这些发现表明TSWV通过抑制FoCSP1诱导的植物防御来促进其蓟马传播介体的后代数量和产卵量，为TSWV - 蓟马 - 植物三方相互作用提供了新的见解。
