Two genomes of highly polyphagous lepidopteran pests (Spodoptera frugiperda, Noctuidae) with different host-plant ranges.

Emergence of polyphagous herbivorous insects entails significant adaptation to recognize, detoxify and digest a variety of host-plants. Despite of its biological and practical importance - since insects eat 20% of crops - no exhaustive analysis of gene repertoires required for adaptations in generalist insect herbivores has previously been performed. The noctuid moth Spodoptera frugiperda ranks as one of the world's worst agricultural pests.

A P-Glycoprotein Is Linked to Resistance to the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry3Aa Toxin in a Leaf Beetle.

is a polyvoltine oligophagous leaf beetle responsible for massive attacks on poplar trees. This beetle is an important model for understanding mechanisms of resistance to (Bt) insecticidal toxins, because a resistant strain has been found that can survive and reproduce on transgenic poplar trees expressing high levels of the Cry3Aa Bt toxin. Resistance to Cry3Aa in this strain is recessive and is controlled by a single autosomal locus.

Multifaceted biological insights from a draft genome sequence of the tobacco hornworm moth, Manduca sexta.

Manduca sexta, known as the tobacco hornworm or Carolina sphinx moth, is a lepidopteran insect that is used extensively as a model system for research in insect biochemistry, physiology, neurobiology, development, and immunity. One important benefit of this species as an experimental model is its extremely large size, reaching more than 10 g in the larval stage. M.

Three toxins, two receptors, one mechanism: Mode of action of Cry1A toxins from Bacillus thuringiensis in Heliothis virescens.

Insecticidal crystal (Cry) proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) are highly active against Lepidoptera. However, field-evolved resistance to Bt toxins is on the rise. The 12-cadherin domain protein HevCaLP and the ABC transporter HevABCC2 are both genetically linked to Cry toxin resistance in Heliothis virescens.

Know your ABCs: Characterization and gene expression dynamics of ABC transporters in the polyphagous herbivore Helicoverpa armigera.

Polyphagous insect herbivores are adapted to many different secondary metabolites of their host plants. However, little is known about the role of ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters, a multigene family involved in detoxification processes. To study the larval response of the generalist Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera) and the putative role of ABC transporters, we performed developmental assays on artificial diet supplemented with secondary metabolites from host plants (atropine-scopolamine, nicotine and tomatine) and non-host plants (taxol) in combination with a replicated RNAseq experiment.

Preorganized anion traps for exploiting anion-π interactions: an experimental and computational study.

1,3-Bis(pentafluorophenyl-imino)isoindoline (A(F)) and 3,6-di-tert-butyl-1,8-bis(pentafluorophenyl)-9H-carbazole (B(F)) have been designed as preorganized anion receptors that exploit anion-π interactions, and their ability to bind chloride and bromide in various solvents has been evaluated. Both receptors A(F) and B(F) are neutral but provide a central NH hydrogen bond that directs the halide anion into a preorganized clamp of the two electron-deficient appended arenes. Crystal structures of host-guest complexes of A(F) with DMSO, Cl(-), or Br(-) (A(F):DMSO, A(F):Cl(-), and A(2)(F):Br(-)) reveal that in all cases the guest is located in the cleft between the perfluorinated flaps, but NMR spectroscopy shows a more complex situation in solution because of E,Z/Z,Z isomerism of the host.