Publications by authors named "Tara Saley"
Additive genetic effects in interacting species jointly determine the outcome of caterpillar herbivory.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A
September 2022
Article Synopsis
- Plant-insect interactions are significant in biology, but the roles of genetic variation in both plants and insects are often unclear and under-examined.
- Researchers studied the Melissa blue butterfly's recent use of alfalfa to explore how genetics affects caterpillar performance at different developmental stages.
- Their findings highlight that caterpillar performance is influenced by both plant and insect genetics, with specific plant chemicals, like saponins and peptides, playing a key role, thereby contributing to theories about coevolution and dietary adaptation in herbivorous insects.
The microbial operon encodes the primary bacterial defense response to the environmental toxicant, arsenic. An important component of this operon is the gene, which encodes ArsR, a member of the family of proteins categorized as DNA-binding transcriptional repressors. As currently documented, ArsR regulates its own expression as well as other genes in the same operon.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant-insect interactions are ubiquitous, and have been studied intensely because of their relevance to damage and pollination in agricultural plants, and to the ecology and evolution of biodiversity. Variation within species can affect the outcome of these interactions. Specific genes and chemicals that mediate these interactions have been identified, but genome- or metabolome-scale studies might be necessary to better understand the ecological and evolutionary consequences of intraspecific variation for plant-insect interactions.
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