Swift regulation of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) enables the rapid detoxification of thiacloprid in pine sawyer beetles.

Thiacloprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide, has become one of the major control agents for the pine sawyer beetle, Monochamus alternatus Hope, however, the mechanism of detoxification is unknown. We demonstrate that glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) and nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) are involved in the rapid detoxification of thiacloprid in M. alternatus larvae.

HcGr76 responds to fructose and chlorogenic acid and is involved in regulation of peptide expression in the midgut of Hyphantria cunea larvae.

Background: Sensing dietary components in the gut is important to ensure an appropriate hormonal response and metabolic regulation after food intake. The fall webworm, Hyphantria cunea, is a major invasive pest in China and has led to significant economic losses and ecosystem disruption. The larvae's broad host range and voracious appetite for leaves make H.

Genomic identification and evolutionary analysis of chemosensory receptor gene families in two Phthorimaea pest species: insights into chemical ecology and host adaptation.

Background: Insects rely on sophisticated sensitive chemosensory systems to sense their complex chemical environment. This sensory process involves a combination of odorant receptors (ORs), gustatory receptors (GRs) and ionotropic receptors (IRs) in the chemosensory system. This study focused on the identification and characterization of these three types of chemosensory receptor genes in two closely related Phthorimaea pest species, Phthorimaea operculella (potato tuber moth) and Phthorimaea absoluta (tomato leaf miner).

Differential Dominance of Ecological Processes Shapes the Longhorn Beetle Community in Tropical Rainforests and Temperate Forests of Southwest China.

(1) Background: Understanding the relationship between community assembly and species coexistence is key to understanding ecosystem diversity. Despite the importance of wood-boring longhorn beetles (Cerambycidae) in forests, factors affecting their population dynamics, species richness, and ecological interactions remain underexplored. (2) Methods: We surveyed cerambycid beetles and plants within five plots each across three transects in tropical rainforests and temperate forests of Yunnan, China, known for its rich biodiversity and varied elevation gradients.

Electrophysiological and Behavioral Responses of Hope to Volatiles from Bunge.

Following infestation by phytophagous insects, changes in the composition and relative proportion of volatile components emitted by plants may be observed. Some phytophagous insects can accurately identify these compounds to locate suitable host plants. We investigated whether herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) generated by herbivory on Bunge (Sapindales: Aceraceae) might be semiochemicals for the host location of Hope (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae).

Emerald Ash Borer Management and Research: Decades of Damage and Still Expanding.

Since the discovery of the ash tree ( spp.) killer emerald ash borer (EAB; ) in the United States in 2002 and Moscow, Russia in 2003, substantial detection and management efforts have been applied to contain and monitor its spread and mitigate impacts. Despite these efforts, the pest continues to spread within North America.

Factors Guiding the Orientation of Nymphal Spotted Lanternfly, .

A mark-release-recapture experiment was conducted to evaluate the orientation of spotted lanternfly (SLF) White (Hemiptera: Fulgoridae) nymphs when released equidistant between two trees. The experiment was repeated weekly for eight weeks in a heavily infested area with mature tree-of-heaven (Mill.) Swingle (Sapindales: Simaroubaceae) planted in rows as ornamental street trees in Beijing, China.

Associated bacteria of a pine sawyer beetle confer resistance to entomopathogenic fungi via fungal growth inhibition.

Background: The entomopathogenic Beauveria bassiana is a popular fungus used to control the Japanese pine sawyer, Monochamus alternatus Hope, the key vector of pine wood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) that is the causal agent of pine wilt disease, resulting in devastating losses of pines in China and Portugal. However, recent studies have demonstrated that some insect-associated bacteria might decrease fungal toxicity and further undermine its biological control efficacy against M. alternatus.

Rapid Assessment of Cerambycid Beetle Biodiversity in a Tropical Rainforest in Yunnan Province, China, Using a Multicomponent Pheromone Lure.

The Cerambycidae comprise a large and ecologically important family of wood-boring beetles. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a generic lure as a potential monitoring tool. Working in a subtropical forest in southwest China, we set traps baited with generic lures at ground level (1 m) and canopy height (~18 m) across 22 randomly located forest plots (12 regenerating forest, 10 mature forest).

Major ascaroside pheromone component asc-C5 influences reproductive plasticity among isolates of the invasive species pinewood nematode.

Pheromones are communication chemicals and regulatory signals used by animals and represent unique tools for organisms to mediate behaviors and make "decisions" to maximize their fitness. Phenotypic plasticity refers to the innate capacity of a species to tolerate a greater breadth of environmental conditions across which it adapts to improve its survival, reproduction, and fitness. The pinewood nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, an invasive nematode species, was accidentally introduced from North America into Japan, China, and Europe; however, few studies have investigated its pheromones and phenotypic plasticity as a natural model.

miR-31-5p regulates cold acclimation of the wood-boring beetle Monochamus alternatus via ascaroside signaling.

Background: Survival to cold stress in insects living in temperate environments requires the deployment of strategies that lead to physiological changes involved in freeze tolerance or freeze avoidance. These strategies may consist of, for instance, the induction of metabolic depression, accumulation of cryoprotectants, or the production of antifreeze proteins, however, little is known about the way such mechanisms are regulated and the signals involved in their activation. Ascarosides are signaling molecules usually known to regulate nematode behavior and development, whose expression was recently found to relate to thermal plasticity in the Japanese pine sawyer beetle Monochamus alternatus.

First description and comparison of the morphological and ultramicro characteristics of the antennal sensilla of two fir longhorn beetles.

Allotraeus asiaticus Schwarzer and Callidiellum villosulum Fairmaire are repeatedly intercepted in wood and wood products all over the world. As two common stem borers of Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lambert) Hooker, to further understanding of the differences in their living habits, behaviors and the mechanism of insect-host chemical communication, we observed the external morphology, number and distribution of antennal sensilla of A. asiaticus and C.

An invasive beetle-fungus complex is maintained by fungal nutritional-compensation mediated by bacterial volatiles.

Mutualisms between symbiotic microbes and animals have been well documented, and nutritional relationships provide the foundation for maintaining beneficial associations. The well-studied mutualism between bark beetles and their fungi has become a classic model system in the study of symbioses. Despite the nutritional competition between bark beetles and beneficial fungi in the same niche due to poor nutritional feeding substrates, bark beetles still maintain mutualistic associations with beneficial fungi over time.

A new bacteria-free strategy induced by MaGal2 facilitates pinewood nematode escape immune response from its vector beetle.

Symbiotic microbes play a crucial role in regulating parasite-host interactions; however, the role of bacterial associates in parasite-host interactions requires elucidation. In this study, we showed that, instead of introducing numerous symbiotic bacteria, dispersal of 4th-stage juvenile (J ) pinewood nematodes (PWNs), Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, only introduced few bacteria to its vector beetle, Monochamus alternatus (Ma). J showed weak binding ability to five dominant bacteria species isolated from the beetles' pupal chamber.

New Approaches in Urban Forestry to Minimize Invasive Species Impacts: The Case of Xiongan New Area in China.

China is implementing an extensive urban forestry plan in Xiongan New Area (XNA), a new city in Hebei province. The city has been designated to serve Beijing's noncapital functions and promote the integration of the broader Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei city-region. As part of a green initiative to minimize environmental impacts and its carbon footprint, a massive urban forestry system has been planned on an unprecedented scale, expected to cover over 600 km by 2030.

Gene family expansion of pinewood nematode to detoxify its host defence chemicals.

Gene gain/loss in the context of gene family dynamics plays an important role in evolutionary processes as organisms, particularly invasive species, adapt to new environments or niches. One notable example of this is the duplication of digestive proteases in some parasitic insects and helminths to meet nutritional requirements during animal parasitism. However, whether gene family expansion participates in the adaptation of a plant parasite nematode to its host remains unknown.

Fighting and aggressive sound determines larger male to win male-male competition in a bark beetle.

Intrasexual selection occurs in male-male competition over access to females and usually results in the larger male winning. While much research has documented that size matters, little is known about how the larger male wins. Dendroctonus valens is an aggregating monogamous bark beetle in which males have large variation in body size and display intense competition over females.

CO drives the pine wood nematode off its insect vector.

Insects have developed special organs, spiracles and the trachea, for oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange to adapt to terrestrial life. The plant-parasitic nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus, also known as pine wood nematode (PWN), is vectored by pine sawyer beetles (Monochamus spp.) and causes destructive pine wilt disease, threatening the safety and stability of pine forest ecosystems.

Bacterial microbiota protect an invasive bark beetle from a pine defensive compound.

Background: There is growing evidence that some devastating biotic invasions are facilitated by microbial symbionts. The red turpentine beetle (RTB), an innocuous secondary insect attacking weakened trees in North America, has formed an invasive complex with the fungus Leptographium procerum in China, and this invasive beetle-fungus symbiotic complex is capable of attacking and killing healthy pines. A previous study demonstrated that three Chinese-resident fungi, newly acquired by RTB in China, induce high levels of a phenolic defensive chemical, naringenin, in pines and this invasive beetle-fungus complex is suppressed by elevated levels of naringenin while the beetle uses its gallery as an external detoxification system in which particular yeast-like fungi and bacterial species biodegrade naringenin.

Ascarosides Promote the Prevalence of Ophiostomatoid Fungi and an Invasive Pathogenic Nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus.

Understanding the coevolution of pathogens and their associated mycoflora depend upon a proper elucidation of the basis of their chemical communication. In the case of pine wilt disease, the mutual interactions between cerambycid beetles, invasive pathogenic nematodes, (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) and their symbiotic ophiostomatoid fungi provide a unique opportunity to understand the role of small molecules in mediating their chemical communication. Nematodes produce ascarosides, a highly conserved family of small molecules that serve essential functions in nematode biology and ecology.

Effect of Oxygen on Verbenone Conversion From -Verbenol by Gut Facultative Anaerobes of .

Since its introduction from North America, LeConte has become a destructive forest pest in China. Although gut aerobic bacteria have been investigated and some are implicated in beetle pheromone production, little is known about the abundance and significance of facultative anaerobic bacteria in beetle gut, especially with regards to effects of oxygen on their role in pheromone production. In this study, we isolated and identified gut bacteria of adults in an anaerobic environment, and further compared their ability to convert -verbenol into verbenone (a multi-functional pheromone of ) under different O concentrations.

Identification of a male-produced sex-aggregation pheromone for a highly invasive cerambycid beetle, Aromia bungii.

The longhorned beetle Aromia bungii (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) is a major pest of stone fruit trees in the genus Prunus, including cherries, apricots, and peaches. Its native range includes China, Korea, Mongolia, and eastern Russia, but it has recently invaded and become established in several countries in Europe, and Japan, and it has been intercepted in shipments coming into North America and Australia. Here, we report the identification of its male-produced aggregation pheromone as the novel compound (E)-2-cis-6,7-epoxynonenal.

Likely Aggregation-Sex Pheromones of the Invasive Beetle Callidiellum villosulum, and the Related Asian Species Allotraeus asiaticus, Semanotus bifasciatus, and Xylotrechus buqueti (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae).

During field trials of the two known cerambycid beetle pheromone components 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one and 1-(1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-1,2-propanedione (henceforth "pyrrole") in Guangxi and Anhui provinces in China, four species in the subfamily Cerambycinae were attracted to lures containing one of the two components, or the blend of the two. Thus, the invasive species Callidiellum villosulum (Fairmaire) (tribe Callidiini) and a second species, Xylotrechus buqueti (Castelnau & Gory) (tribe Clytini), were specifically attracted to the blend of 3-hydroxyhexan-2-one and the pyrrole. In contrast, Allotreus asiaticus (Schwarzer) (tribe Phoracanthini) and Semanotus bifasciatus Motschulsky (tribe Callidiini) were specifically attracted to the pyrrole as a single component.

2R,3S)-2,3-Octanediol, a Female-Produced Sex Pheromone of Megopis costipennis (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae).

During field screening trials of a number of known cerambycid pheromones in China, males of Megopis costipennis (White) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae: Callipogonini) were found to be specifically attracted to racemic anti-2,3-octanediol, suggesting that one of the enantiomers of this compound might be a female-produced sex pheromone of this species. Analysis of volatiles produced by beetles of both sexes confirmed this hypothesis: females produced (2R,3S)-2,3-octanediol, whereas males did not, and in coupled gas chromatography–electroantennogram detection analyses, antennae from male beetles responded strongly to this compound. In field trials, males were equally attracted to traps baited with either (2R,3S)-2,3-octanediol or racemic anti-2,3-octanediol, indicating that the enantiomeric (2S,3R)-2,3-octanediol does not antagonize attraction to the naturally produced enantiomer.

Prionic Acid: An Effective Sex Attractant for an Important Pest of Sugarcane, Dorysthenes granulosus (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae).

Male Dorysthenes granulosus (Thomson, 1860) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Prioninae) were caught in traps baited with racemic 3,5-dimethyldodecanoic acid (prionic acid) during field screening trials in China that tested known cerambycid pheromones. This species is an important pest of sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.).