Exogenously applied melatonin alleviates the damage in cucumber plants caused by Aphis goosypii through altering the insect behavior and inducing host plant resistance.

Background: Aphis gossypii Glover is the main pest found in most cucumber-producing areas. Melatonin (MT) has been widely studied in protecting plants from environmental stresses and pathogens. However, little knowledge is available on the impact of MT on insect resistance.

Results: The fecundity of aphids on MT-treated cucumber leaves was inhibited. Interestingly, MT-treated plants were more attractive to aphids, which would prevent the large-scale transmission of viruses caused by the random movement of aphids. Meanwhile, MT caused varying degrees of change in enzyme activities related to methylesterified HG degradation, antioxidants, defense systems and membrane lipid peroxidation. Furthermore, transcriptomic analysis showed that MT induced 2360 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) compared with the control before aphid infection. These DEGs mainly were enriched in hormone signal transduction, MAPK signaling pathway, and plant-pathogen interaction, revealing that MT can help plants acquire inducible resistance and enhance plant immunity. Subsequently, 2397 DEGs were identified after aphid infection. Further analysis showed that MT-treated plants possessed stronger JA signal, reactive oxygen species stability, and the ability of flavonoid synthesis under aphid infection, while mediating plant growth and sucrose metabolism.

Conclusion: In summary, MT as an environmentally friendly substance mitigated aphid damage to cucumbers by affecting the aphids themselves and enhancing plant resistance. This will facilitate exploring sustainable MT-based strategies for cucumber aphid control. © 2022 Society of Chemical Industry.