Zinc absorption from maize-based meals enriched with edible house crickets: a randomized crossover stable-isotope study in Kenyan pre-school children.

Edible insects have been proposed as a novel and sustainable source of protein and other essential nutrients for human consumption but nutrient absorption efficiency is still uncertain. We investigated zinc absorption from house crickets (Acheta domesticus) in a single-center and single-blinded cross-over study with children aged 24-36 months old in Kenya from September-November 2021. For this, children were randomized to consume two different experimental meals labeled with stable isotopes of zinc (Zn) at two different days, separated by a wash-out period of one month.

Differences in within-plant oviposition preferences and immature survival between Orius predators and the importance of spatial availability of prey.

Oviposition preferences of plant-feeding predators remain a complex topic, as such omnivores choose oviposition sites by assessing both plant characteristics and the quality and quantity of nearby animal food sources. Orius predators are omnivores that oviposit endophytically, thus plant characteristics play an important role in their oviposition choices. In this study, we assessed the oviposition and foraging preferences of O.

Bivariate GWA mapping reveals associations between aliphatic glucosinolates and plant responses to thrips and heat stress.

Although plants harbor a huge phytochemical diversity, only a fraction of plant metabolites is functionally characterized. In this work, we aimed to identify the genetic basis of metabolite functions during harsh environmental conditions in Arabidopsis thaliana. With machine learning algorithms we predicted stress-specific metabolomes for 23 (a)biotic stress phenotypes of 300 natural Arabidopsis accessions.

Caterpillar-parasitoid interactions: species-specific influences on host microbiome composition.

There is increasing evidence that host-parasitoid interactions can have a pronounced impact on the microbiome of host insects, but it is unclear to what extent this is caused by the host and/or parasitoid. Here, we compared the internal and external microbiome of caterpillars of Pieris brassicae and Pieris rapae parasitized by Cotesia glomerata or Cotesia rubecula with nonparasitized caterpillars. Additionally, we investigated the internal and external microbiome of the parasitoid larvae.