Publications by authors named "Patamarerk Engsontia"

Associating with plant hosts is thought to have elevated the diversification of insect herbivores, which comprise the majority of global species diversity. In particular, there is considerable interest in understanding the genetic changes that allow host-plant shifts to occur in pest insects and in determining what aspects of functional genomic diversity impact host-plant breadth. Insect chemoreceptors play a central role in mediating insect-plant interactions, as they directly influence plant detection and sensory stimuli during feeding.

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Multidrug-resistant bacteria are a current health crisis threatening the world's population, and scientists are looking for new drugs to combat them. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs), which are part of the organism's innate immune system, are a promising new drug class as they can disrupt bacterial cell membranes. This study explored antimicrobial peptide genes in collembola, a non-insect hexapod lineage that has survived in microbe-rich habitats for millions of years, and their antimicrobial peptides have not been thoroughly investigated.

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The red palm weevil () is a highly destructive pest of oil palm, date, and coconut in many parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has called for international collaboration to develop a multidisciplinary strategy to control this invasive pest. Previous research focused on the molecular basis of chemoreception in this species, particularly olfaction, to develop biosensors for early detection and more effective bait traps for mass trapping.

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Article Synopsis
  • Many animal species utilize venom for defense and hunting, which contains a variety of toxic compounds; some of these compounds have inspired drug development for conditions like cancer and pain relief.
  • The study focused on the stinging nettle caterpillar, identifying a large number of unique genetic transcripts and 168 potential toxin genes, including new types of peptides with structures akin to known neurotoxins.
  • The research emphasizes the significance of convergent evolution in the development of toxins within the Lepidoptera group, suggesting potential avenues for discovering novel drugs from these toxins.
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  • - The white-backed planthopper (WBPH), brown planthopper (BPH), and small brown planthopper (SBPH) are rice pests that damage crops through sap-sucking and virus transmission, with their host-seeking behavior linked to specific chemosensory receptor genes (ORs, IRs, and GRs).
  • - Research identified varying numbers of ORs, GRs, and IRs across different planthopper species and revealed unique OR clades that likely help these insects detect rice plant volatiles.
  • - The study highlights the critical role of the Orco gene in these pests' ability to locate rice plants, suggesting potential for RNAi-based genetic modifications in rice to enhance pest management strategies.*
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  • The Colorado potato beetle is a significant pest due to its ability to adapt to various plants and climates while rapidly developing resistance to insecticides.
  • Research uses genome sequencing and transcriptomics to explore the beetle's rapid evolutionary changes, focusing on genetic adaptations that facilitate herbivory and insecticide resistance.
  • Key findings include the role of transposable elements in its genome, gene expansions related to feeding, and similarities in insecticide resistance genes with other beetles, offering insights for sustainable pest management strategies.
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Background: Chemical communication plays important roles in the social behavior of ants making them one of the most successful groups of animals on earth. However, the molecular evolutionary process responsible for their chemosensory adaptation is still elusive. Recent advances in genomic studies have led to the identification of large odorant receptor (Or) gene repertoires from ant genomes providing fruitful materials for molecular evolution analysis.

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Lepidoptera (comprised of butterflies and moths) is one of the largest groups of insects, including more than 160,000 described species. Chemoreception plays important roles in the adaptation of these species to a wide range of niches, e.g.

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The Tribolium castaneum genome sequence reveals a large number of odorant receptor (Or) genes compared to those found in other insects whose olfactory genomes have been studied-341 Or genes and pseudogenes, encoding 259 intact odorant receptor proteins. An RT-PCR study of larvae and adults revealed that only 145 (64%) of 233 genes with successful genomic DNA amplifications were expressed. No expression of the other 87 genes was detected at any age, suggesting either that these genes are not expressed in this particular strain, or that they are induced only in certain environmental or developmental conditions.

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