Cascading Effects of Root Microbial Symbiosis on the Development and Metabolome of the Insect Herbivore L.

Root mutualistic microbes can modulate the production of plant secondary metabolites affecting plant-herbivore interactions. Still, the main mechanisms underlying the impact of root mutualists on herbivore performance remain ambiguous. In particular, little is known about how changes in the plant metabolome induced by root mutualists affect the insect metabolome and post-larval development.