Development of Metal-Organic Framework-Based Emamectin Benzoate Nanopesticides for Effective Control of .

Pine wilt disease is caused by invasion and has a great impact on global pine resources. Injection of emamectin benzoate (EB) into pine trunks is an effective way to control . However, EB has limited aqueous solubility, easily photodissociates, and its long-term use causes resistance problems.

Nano-delivery platform with strong protection and efficient delivery: preparation of self-assembled RNA pesticide with dual RNAi targets against Apolygus lucorum.

Background: RNA pesticide is regarded as the "third revolution in the history of pesticides". However, the double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) is easily degraded in the environment, and its delivery efficiency is not sufficient for pest management. This study aimed to construct a star polycation (SPc)-based delivery platform with strong protection and efficient delivery to develop a self-assembled RNA pesticide with dual RNA interference (RNAi) targets.

Laboratory Exploration of Several Potential Biocontrol Methods Against the Ambrosia Beetle, .

The ambrosia beetle Blandford (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) has recently emerged as a pest in Chinese poplar plantations, causing significant economic losses through damage to host trees in association with its mutualistic fungus . This study evaluated the biocontrol potential of strain B-BB-1, strain B-SM-1, its metabolite prodigiosin, and two ectoparasitic mites, and . exhibited significant lethality toward adult female , reduced offspring production, and inhibited growth.

Thiamethoxam-Loaded Ethyl Cellulose Microspheres for Extending the Efficacy Duration and Reducing the Toxicity on the Growth of Maize ( L.).

Thiamethoxam has been widely used in agriculture due to its excellent insecticidal activity. However, thiamethoxam is prone to loss during practical applications, especially in soil application, which seriously reduces its performance. In this work, thiamethoxam is loaded in ethyl cellulose microspheres to solve this issue, and the thiamethoxam-loaded ethyl cellulose microspheres (thiamethoxam/EC) are facilely and effectively fabricated by emulsified solvent volatilization.

The fertility recovering from heat stress and interactions of heat shock protein 20 with reproduction-related proteins in Monochamus alternatus.

Due to the rise in global temperatures with climate change, insects, as ectotherms, critically depend on their heat tolerance for survival and reproduction. Heat shock proteins (HSPs) are essential for heat tolerance by averting protein denaturation; however, whether HSPs contribute to reproduction-related heat tolerance remains largely unexplored. The study investigated the reproductive heat tolerance and recovery of Monochamus alternatus, a major forestry pest, in response to heat stress.

A phosphate starvation induced small RNA promotes Bacillus biofilm formation.

Currently, almost all known regulators involved in bacterial phosphorus metabolism are proteins. In this study, we identified a conserved new small regulatory RNA (sRNA), named PhoS, encoded in the 3' untranslated region (UTR) of the phoPR genes in Bacillus velezensis and B. subtilis.

Diffusive Phyllosphere Microbiome Potentially Regulates Harm and Defence Interactions Between Stephanitis nashi and Its Crabapple Host.

Pear lace bug (Stephanitis nashi) is a significant herbivorous pest, harbouring a diverse microbiome crucial for crabapple (Malus sp.) host adaptation. However, the mutual influence of S.

Phylogeography of the ambrosia beetle Euwallacea interjectus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae): an emerging poplar pest and its Fusarium mutualists from poplar plantations in China.

Native to Asia, Euwallacea interjectus (Blandford) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) is a destructive and invasive pest of live trees, and now it has been found in the United States and Argentina. In recent years, this pest appeared in high densities in poplar monocultures from Eastern China (Jiangsu and Shanghai) and Argentina and caused significant poplar mortality. However, the origin of the pests related to tree damage and the Fusarium mutualists from some poplar zones in China remained unclear.

The Key Phytochemical Cue Camphor Is a Promising Lure for Traps Monitoring the New Monophagous Camphor Tree Borer Pagiophloeus tsushimanus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae).

The landscape plant, Cinnamomum camphora, is a broad-spectrum insect-repelling tree species, mainly due to a diversity of terpenoids, such as camphor. Despite its formidable chemical defenses, C. camphora is easily attacked and invaded by a monophagous weevil pest, Pagiophloeus tsushimanus.

Trial and error: New insights into recombinant expression of membrane-bound insect cytochromes P450 in Escherichia coli systems.

Insect cytochromes P450 (CYP450s) are key enzymes responsible for a wide array of oxidative transformations of both endogenous and exogenous substrates. However, there is currently no a universal guideline established for heterologous expression of membrane-bound CYP450s, which hampers their downstream biochemical and structural studies. In this study, we conducted large-scale screening of protein overexpression in Escherichia coli using 71 insect CYP450 sequences and optimized the expression of a difficult-to-express CYP450 (CYP6HX3) using eight different optimizations, including selection of host strains and expression vectors, alternative of leader signal peptides, and N-terminal modifications.

Heat stress-induced oviposition behavioral change correlates with sperm damage in the pine sawyer beetle, Monochamus alternatus.

Background: Global climate change is causing an increase in extreme high temperatures (EHTs), which subject insects to unprecedented stress. Behavior plasticity in response to EHTs, particularly oviposition behavior, is important for the persistence and outbreak of insect populations. Investigating the plasticity of oviposition behavior and its underlying mechanisms has theoretical importance to pest management, but knowledge gaps still remain.

Biology of , an emerging poplar pest, reared on an ambrosia beetle artificial diet and medium of fungal symbiont.

a recently discovered pest in poplar plantations, poses a significant economic threat due to its role in causing widespread tree mortality. This pest's cryptic behaviour has hindered research and control efforts, making laboratory rearing a valuable tool for studying its development and biology. We investigated the development period and biological characteristics of using artificial diets and fungal medium.

Microbial changes and associated metabolic responses modify host plant adaptation in Stephanitis nashi.

Symbiotic microorganisms are essential for the physiological processes of herbivorous pests, including the pear lace bug Stephanitis nashi, which is known for causing extensive damage to garden plants and fruit trees due to its exceptional adaptability to diverse host plants. However, the specific functional effects of the microbiome on the adaptation of S. nashi to its host plants remains unclear.

Identification and Functional Analysis of an Epsilon Class Glutathione S-Transferase Gene Associated with α-Pinene Adaptation in .

Alpha-pinene is one of the main defensive components in conifers. (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), a wood borer feeding on Pinaceae plants, relies on its detoxifying enzymes to resist the defensive terpenoids. Here, we assayed the peroxide level and GST activity of larvae treated with different concentrations of α-pinene.

Spatiotemporal Patterns of Five Small Heat Shock Protein Genes in in Response to Thermal Stress.

(Drury), a destructive polyphagous pest, has been spreading southward after invading northern China, which indicates that this insect species is facing a huge thermal challenge. Small heat shock proteins (sHSPs) function as ATP-independent molecular chaperones that protect insects from heat stress damage. In order to explore the role of sHSPs in the thermotolerance of , five novel sHSP genes of were cloned, including an orthologous gene () and four species-specific sHSP genes (, , , and ).

An oral dsRNA delivery system based on chitosan induces G protein-coupled receptor kinase 2 gene silencing for Apolygus lucorum control.

RNA interference (RNAi) is recognized as a new and environmentally friendly pest control strategy due to its high specificity. However, the RNAi efficiency is relatively low in many sucking insect pests, such as Apolygus lucorum. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop new and effective ways of dsRNA delivery.

A gut-isolated Enterococcus strain (HcM7) triggers the expression of antimicrobial peptides that aid resistance to nucleopolyhedrovirus infection of Hyphantria cunea larvae.

Background: Commensal microorganisms are widely distributed in insect gut tissues and play important roles in host nutrition, metabolism, reproductive regulation, and especially immune functioning and tolerance to pathogens. Consequently, gut microbiota represent a promising resource for the development of microbial-based products for pest control and management. However, the interactions among host immunity, entomopathogen infections, and gut microbiota remain poorly understood for many arthropod pests.

Isolation and characterization of gut bacteria associated with the degradation of host-specific terpenoids in Pagiophloeus tsushimanus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) larvae.

Insect intestinal bacteria play an important role in resisting defensive substances of host plants. Pagiophloeus tsushimanus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) feeds exclusively on camphor trees (Cinnamomum camphora, Laurales: Lauraceae) in China, causing substantial economic and ecological losses. It is unclear how the larvae of P.

Effects of midgut bacteria in Hyphantria cunea (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) on nuclear polyhedrosis virus and Bacillus thuringiensis (Bacillales: Bacillaceae).

Hyphantria cunea Drury (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) is a quarantine pest in China that can cause damage to hundreds of plants. As biological control agents, Nuclear Polyhedrosis Virus (NPV) and Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (Bacillales: Bacillaceae) (Bt) are commonly used to inhibit the prevalence of H. cunea.

Tolerance to dietary linalool primarily involves co-expression of cytochrome P450s and cuticular proteins in Pagiophloeus tsushimanus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) larvae using SMRT sequencing and RNA-seq.

Background: Pagiophloeus tsushimanus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), an emerging forest pest exclusively infesting camphor trees, has recently caused severe ecological and economic damage in localized areas in China. Its population outbreak depends largely on the capacity to overcome the pressure of terpenoid-derived metabolites (e.g.

An alkaline protease from Bacillus cereus NJSZ-13 can act as a pathogenicity factor in infection of pinewood nematode.

Endophytic bacteria are an important biological control for nematodes. We isolated the nematicidal Bacillus cereus NJSZ-13 from healthy Pinus elliottii trunks. Bioassay experiments showed killing of all tested nematodes by proteins from the NJSZ-13 culture filtrate within 72 h.

Comparing the Performance of Hyphantria cunea (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) on Artificial and Natural Diets: Feasibility of Mass-Rearing on Artificial Diets.

In China, Hyphantria cunea (Drury) is an invasive phytophagous pest; it attacks nearly all species of defoliated trees. To develop integrated pest management programs (IPM) for H. cunea, we need to ensure the availability of insects by mass-rearing them on artificial diets under laboratory conditions.

A heat shock 70kDa protein MaltHSP70-2 contributes to thermal resistance in Monochamus alternatus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae): quantification, localization, and functional analysis.

Background: Heat Shock Proteins 70 (HSP70s) in insects act on a diverse range of substrates to assist with overcoming extreme high temperatures. MaltHSP70-2, a member of HSP70s, has been characterized to involve in the thermotolerance of Monochamus alternatus in vitro, while quantification and localization of MaltHSP70-2 in various tissues and its functional analysis in vivo remain unclear.

Results: In this study, temporal expression of MaltHSP70-2 indicated a long-last inductive effect on MaltHSP70-2 expression maintained 48 hours after heat shock.

Comparative Transcriptome Analysis Reveals Molecular Insights in Overwintering Monochamus alternatus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae).

Monochamus alternatus, the dominant vector of Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Aphelenchida: Aphelenchoididae), has caused immense damage to forest resources. In China, this vector was native to the southern regions but has spread northward recently. To adapt to more challenging environments in the northern winter, M.