Weihua Ma

BACKGROUND: Inducible promoters enable precise spatiotemporal control of resistance gene expression in transgenic crops, which minimizes the metabolic burden and fitness costs caused by constitutive promoters. This study aimed to characterize the OsCYP92C21 promoter from rice and evaluate its utility in driving pest‐inducible resistance against striped stem borer (SSB) and brown planthopper (BPH). RESULTS: The native OsCYP92C21 promoter drove strong inducible expression of Cry1C* and LecRK1* upon SSB and BPH infestation, respectively, conferring significant resistance in transgenic rice. Larval mortality reached 75.56% in P‐Cry1C* lines, and seedling mortality was reduced by up to 89.9% in P‐LecRK1* lines. Promoter dissection identified a pest‐inducible region (PIR, −711 to −446 bp) essential for SSB‐specific induction. A synthetic 3×PIR‐mini35S promoter conferred SSB‐inducible Cry1C* expression and enhanced resistance but did not respond to BPH. Transgenic lines using native or synthetic promoters showed agronomic performance comparable with wild‐type plants, in contrast to constitutive expression lines. CONCLUSION: The OsCYP92C21 promoter is a dual‐pest inducible promoter with distinct regulatory modules for different pests. By contrast, the synthetic 3×PIR‐mini35S promoter confers SSB‐inducible expression but does not respond to BPH. The PIR element enables SSB‐specific resistance without detectable agronomic penalties, providing a valuable tool for precision breeding. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

The melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett), is a globally significant agricultural pest causing substantial economic losses. Odorant-binding proteins (OBPs) are critical of the insect olfactory system, yet their specific physiological functions in Z. cucurbitae remain largely uncharacterized. In this study, we functionally characterized ZcucOBP14 and investigated its putative involvement in host chemoreception and insecticide tolerance. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis indicated that ZcucOBP14 belongs to the Minus-C OBP subfamily, and quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) showed that it was predominantly expressed in both the head and abdomen. Fluorescence binding assays revealed that ZcucOBP14 exhibited broad binding affinity to 11 host plant volatiles, three sex pheromones, and two insecticides. Subsequent electroantennography (EAG) and behavioral bioassays identified isopulegol, 1-hexanol, linalool, and α-pinene as key ligands regulating the behavioral responses of Z. cucurbitae. RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown of ZcucOBP14 significantly reduced EAG responses to key ligands, eliminated behavioral preference, and increased insecticide-induced mortality by 20%. Molecular docking further identified that Tyr71, Ile67, Trp50, Val107, Phe116 and Leu70 were critical residues involved in ligand interactions. Collectively, these findings highlight the indispensable role of ZcucOBP14 in olfactory perception and its contribution to insecticide tolerance, laying a solid theoretical foundation for the development of novel behavior-modifying agents, attractants, and optimized integrated pest management (IPM) strategies against this pest.

BACKGROUND: Insect herbivores threaten global agricultural productivity, and sustainable farming systems have been widely promoted to secure food security. However, how such systems affect pest populations across field and landscape scales, and whether such effects vary among pest species, remain poorly understood. As a major staple crop feeding half the global population, rice faces severe threats from multiple pests with divergent biological traits. Rice–crayfish co‐culture (RC) is a rapidly expanding sustainable rice farming system with ecological and economic benefits, yet its impacts on these rice pests remain unclear. We conducted a 4‐year field survey to investigate RC's effects on pest abundance at field and landscape scales, and whether such effects differ among pest species. RESULTS: Across 43–55 paired fields, RC and rice monoculture fields did not significantly differ in the abundance of the white‐backed planthopper [ Sogatella furcifera (Horváth), WBPH], rice leaf folder [ Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée), RLF] and striped stem borer [ Chilo suppressalis (Walker), SSB] at the field scale. At the 3.0‐km landscape scale, increasing RC coverage was significantly positively linked to WBPH (estimate = 5.31 ± 1.54, P = 0.002) and RLF (estimate = 3.60 ± 1.67, P = 0.031) abundance, yet significantly negatively associated with SSB abundance (estimate = −5.11 ± 1.43, P < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The impacts of RC on rice pests are scale‐dependent and species‐specific, shaped by pests’ distinct biological traits. Our findings highlight that multi‐scale, species‐specific research is critical for sustainable farming expansion, guiding targeted management instead of uniform control, avoiding unintended outbreaks while maximizing its benefits. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

BACKGROUND: The melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Coquillett), is a significant pest of cucurbit crops, and its ovipositing females cause direct damage to fruits. However, existing management strategies primarily target the male population, leaving a critical gap in female‐specific control measures. Plant‐derived volatiles are environmentally sustainable alternatives for developing behavior‐based pest‐management tools. RESULTS: The volatiles of the preferred host plant, bitter gourd ( Momordica charantia L.), were characterized qualitatively and semiquantitatively using headspace solid‐phase microextraction gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (HS‐SPME/GC–MS) under targeted sampling conditions. A total of 48 fruit and 44 leaf volatiles were identified, with 28 compounds common to both tissues. Electroantennography (EAG) screenings revealed dose‐dependent female antennal responses to 13 compounds, six of which (terpinen‐4‐ol, trans ‐verbenol, α‐terpineol, 1‐decanal, β‐caryophyllene and perillaldehyde) exhibited consistent female‐specific attraction in behavioral assays. A synthetic six‐component blend (each at 10 μg μL ⁻¹ in a 1:1:1:1:1:1 ratio) demonstrated a significantly stronger attraction than any individual compound did. Further optimization yielded an optimized four‐component formulation comprising terpinen‐4‐ol, perillaldehyde, trans ‐verbenol and β‐caryophyllene (each at 10 μg μL ⁻¹ in a 1:1:1:1 ratio), which effectively attracted both male and female Z. cucurbitae . CONCLUSION: This plant‐based volatile blend offers a targeted candidate attractant with strong potential for subsequent field development for sustainable management of Z. cucurbitae . The six‐component blend exhibited potent female‐specific attraction, addressing the current control gap for female melon flies, whereas the optimized four‐component formulation achieved effective dual‐sex attraction and provided a practical tool for integration into monitoring and mass‐trapping programs. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

BACKGROUND: The 28‐spotted potato ladybird beetle ( Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata ) is a globally significant pest of solanaceous crops, including potato ( Solanum tuberosum L.), a staple food crop critical for global food security. Current pest management heavily relies on synthetic pesticides, raising concerns about resistance evolution, environmental contamination, and food safety. This study explores the efficacy of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) Cry3A and Cry3B proteins as a viable alternative against H. vigintioctopunctata larvae. RESULTS: Transgenic potato plants (cultivar E3) expressing Cry3A and Cry3B genes were successfully engineered via Agrobacterium tumefaciens ‐mediated transformation. Molecular analyses confirmed stable transgene integration and high expression levels in single‐copy transgenic lines, with an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay further verifying stable accumulation of Bt proteins. Bioassays using transgenic foliage demonstrated rapid and significant larval mortality, exceeding 31.67% within 24 h and reaching 100% in some lines by day 13, in contrast to minimal mortality (17.5%) in wild‐type controls. Moreover, transgenic plants exhibited substantially reduced foliar damage, confirming strong protective efficacy. Conclusion: This study is the first to report the insecticidal activity of Cry3A and Cry3B proteins against H. vigintioctopunctata , thereby expanding the application scope of Bt‐mediated resistance in potato. Our findings highlight the potential of transgenic potato as a sustainable and effective tool for managing this devastating pest, offering a promising strategy to reduce reliance on chemical pesticides and mitigate associated risks. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

BACKGROUND: Nanopesticides are deemed to significantly reduce the adverse effects of traditional chemical pesticides on the environment and organisms, but scientific evidence is lacking to support this claim. RESULTS: Herein, nano‐lignin ( LGN ) coated avermectin ( AVM @ LGN ) exhibited reduced toxicity to Harmonia Axyridis compared with AVM ( AVM : LC ₅₀ = 8.940 mg/L, LC ₃₀ = 6.305 mg/L; AVM @ LGN : LC ₅₀ = 23.158 mg/L, LC ₃₀ = 14.849 mg/L), while significantly enhancing its predatory ability, individual development, fecundity, and population growth. Meanwhile, its insecticidal activity against Megoura crassicauda did not differ significantly from that of AVM . Analysis of stress‐related enzymes activity revealed that AVM @ LGN induced a moderate physiological metabolic response in H. axyridis compared to AVM . Transcriptome diversity suggested that the gene expression levels among the different treatments shared a similar trend. Besides affecting the expression of genes involved in longevity regulation and insect hormone biosynthesis, AVM treatment also altered genes related to signal transduction and metabolic detoxification, whereas the differentially expressed genes ( DEGs ) induced by AVM @ LGN were mainly associated with the penetration resistance of H. axyridis . CONCLUSION: In summary, we demonstrate that AVM @ LGN significantly relieved adverse effects of AVM posed to H. axyridis . These results provide a reference for future biosafety assessments of nano‐lignin coated pesticide formulations and offers theoretical support for the promotion and application of AVM @ LGN . © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

Cross-kingdom RNAs are emerging as critical mediators of interspecies interactions, yet the functions of long RNAs such as mRNAs and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in recipient organisms remain largely unexplored. Here, we show that the brown planthopper ( Nilaparvata lugens , BPH), a major rice pest, translocates mRNAs and lncRNAs into rice plants, where they migrate systemically from feeding sites to distal tissues. Compared with BPH mRNAs, BPH Salivary gland Cross-kingdom LncRNA ( BSCL s) exhibit markedly higher stability in rice. Among them, mitochondrial-originated BSCL1 functions as a virulence factor that promotes BPH feeding and reproduction by suppressing host defense. Mechanistically, BSCL1 associates with the HIRA histone chaperone complex and displaces histone H3.3 from the promoters of transcription factors, including bHLH genes central to jasmonic acid signaling, thereby repressing transcriptional immunity. Our results identify BSCL s as systemic, RNA-based effectors that reprogram host defense at the epigenetic level, revealing a previously unrecognized mode of insect-mediated manipulation of plant immunity and highlighting lncRNAs as cross-kingdom regulators.

BACKGROUND: Aphids are one of the most damaging piercing‐sucking pests in rice production, whose population outbreaks cause crop losses amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars annually worldwide. To address this challenge, it is highly imperative to develop aphid‐resistant rice varieties through techniques such as genetic modification. RESULTS: In this study, we successfully targeted the ( E )‐β‐farnesene synthase ( EβFS ) to the chloroplast using the promoter of the rice Rubisco small subunit gene ( rbcS ) and its chloroplast transit peptide (ctp), which significantly enhanced the production of ( E )‐β‐farnesene (EβF) in transgenic rice. At the seedling stage, the EβFS protein content was 17.6‐fold higher in transgenic rice compared with that in the rice previously generated using the cauliflower mosaic virus 35S promoter (35S::EβFS). At the tillering stage, the EβF release rate reached 12.7 μg per plant per day in the transgenic rice. Olfactory behavioral assays demonstrated that the transgenic rice line generated in this study had significantly enhanced ability to repel bird cherry‐oat aphids ( Rhopalosiphum padi ) (‘Push’ effect) and attract its natural enemy multicolored Asian lady beetles ( Harmonia axyridis ) (‘Pull’ effect) compared with the 35S::EβFS lines. In addition, the rbcS promoter can achieve specific expression of the EβFS gene in photosynthetic organs, avoiding unnecessary consumption of energy and resources associated with constitutive expression. CONCLUSION: This Push–Pull strategy could protect rice plants from aphid infestation by controlling the aphid populations, providing an ecologically friendly and sustainable approach for integrated pest management in rice fields. © 2025 Society of Chemical Industry.

The cotton aphid Aphis gossypii is a globally significant agricultural pest that threatens crop production through its prolific reproduction. While the parasitoid wasp Binodoxys communis offers promising potential for biological control, the molecular mechanisms underlying its reproductive manipulation of aphid hosts remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated the stage-specific parasitism strategies of B. communis on A. gossypii using integrated biological observations and transcriptomic analysis. Parasitism significantly prolonged aphid development and suppressed reproduction across all host stages, with severity inversely correlated with host age at parasitism. Transcriptomic analysis of ovaries of parasitized aphids revealed 1168 differentially expressed genes, with temporal progression from minimal changes in nymphs (7 DEGs at day 1) to extensive disruption in adults (549 DEGs at day 3). Notably, juvenile hormone acid methyltransferase (JHAMT), the rate-limiting enzyme in juvenile hormone biosynthesis, emerged as a master regulator that is differentially targeted across host stages. In 3rd instar nymphs, single-gene suppression of JHAMT (−3.23-fold change) achieved effective reproductive control, whereas adult parasitism required progressive manipulation of multiple genes including JHAMT, FOHSDR, ALDH, and JHEH. The vitellogenin-vitellogenin receptor system only showed coordinated downregulation in adults, whereas nymphs exhibited preemptive receptor suppression before vitellogenesis onset. These findings demonstrate that B. communis has evolved to exploit a developmental window where host manipulation is most efficient—3rd instar nymphs, which possess sufficient resources for parasitoid development and lack the complex compensatory mechanisms found in adults. This “low-cost, high-reward” strategy based on precision targeting of master regulators in nymphs compared to multi-gene assault in adults, revealing the evolutionary optimization of parasitoid manipulation strategies. Our results provide molecular insights into parasitoid-host coevolution and identified key regulatory targets for developing innovative biological control strategies against this important agricultural pest.

Cross-kingdom RNAs are emerging as critical mediators of interspecies interactions, yet the functions of long RNAs such as mRNAs and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in recipient organisms remain largely unexplored. Here, we show that the brown planthopper ( Nilaparvata lugens , BPH), a major rice pest, translocates mRNAs and lncRNAs into rice plants, where they migrate systemically from feeding sites to distal tissues. Compared with BPH mRNAs, BPH Salivary gland Cross-kingdom LncRNA ( BSCL s) exhibit markedly higher stability in rice. Among them, BSCL1 functions as a virulence factor that promotes BPH feeding and reproduction by suppressing host defense. Mechanistically, BSCL1 associates with the HIRA histone chaperone complex and displaces histone H3.3 from the promoters of transcription factors, including bHLH genes central to jasmonic acid signaling, thereby repressing transcriptional immunity. Our results identify BSCLs as systemic, RNA-based effectors that reprogram host defense at the epigenetic level, revealing a previously unrecognized mode of insect-mediated manipulation of plant immunity and highlighting lncRNAs as cross-kingdom regulators. Significance Statement: Plant–herbivore interactions are traditionally viewed as battles over nutrients and defense signaling, mediated largely by proteins and small RNAs. Here, we demonstrate that long non-coding RNAs from brown planthopper saliva are translocated into rice, migrate systemically, and function as epigenetic effectors that suppress key transcription factors in jasmonic acid–mediated defense. Unlike insect mRNAs, these lncRNAs persist in the plant and reprogram immunity by interfering with histone deposition. This discovery uncovers a new class of mobile, RNA-based virulence factors, expands our understanding of cross-kingdom regulation, and suggests innovative strategies for pest control targeting RNA effectors.