Qingxuan Qiao

The co-evolution between plants and herbivorous insects has led to a continuous arms race on defense and anti-defense mechanisms. In this process, insect-derived effectors are crucial for suppressing plant defense. Despite considerable progress in plant–insect interaction studies, the functional role of heat shock cognate protein 70 (HSC70) as an effector in herbivorous insects remains poorly characterized. This study provides evidence that HSC70-3 functions as an effector in interactions between the cruciferous specialist diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella) and its host plant radish (Raphanus sativus ‘Nanpan Prefecture’). Using immunofluorescence labeling and in situ Western blot (WB), we demonstrated that HSC70-3 is secreted into plant wound sites through larval gut regurgitant during feeding. Short-term host transfer experiments revealed tissue-specific hsc70-3 expression changes, indicating a dynamic response to plant-derived challenges. These findings suggest hsc70-3 is differentially regulated at transcriptional and translational levels to facilitate insect adaptation to host plant shifts. Knockout of hsc70-3 using CRISPR/Cas9 technology significantly impaired larval growth, prolonged development duration, and reduced pupal weight on host plants, indicating its involvement in host adaptation. However, knockout mutants exhibited no significant developmental defects when reared on an artificial diet, suggesting that hsc70-3 primarily functions in modulating plant-induced defense responses rather than directly affecting insect physiology. Collectively, these findings provide evidence for the functional roles of HSC70-3 in P. xylostella and plant interactions, laying a foundation for further investigations into insect effectors and their mechanisms in modulating plant defense responses.

The ongoing interplay among plants, insects, and bacteria underscores the intricate balance of defense mechanisms in ecosystems. Regurgitant bacteria directly/indirectly impact plant immune responses, but the underlying mechanism is unclear. Here, we focus on the interaction between regurgitant bacteria, diamondback moth (DBM), and plant. Six culturable bacteria were isolated from DBM gut regurgitant, including three Enterobacter strains (RB1-3), Micrococcus sp. (RB4), Staphylococcus haemolyticus (RB5), and Bacillus cereus (RB6). These RB strains suppressed genes related to jasmonic acid and glucosinolate signaling pathways but had little effect on salicylic acid signaling pathway genes in Arabidopsis thaliana wounds. RB1 and RB5 inhibited DBM development on A. thaliana but not on an artificial diet. RB1 and RB5 significantly suppressed GOX genes and proteins in DBMs. However, the Pxgox2 insect mutant strain inoculated with RB1 or RB5 did not significantly affect DBM feeding on A. thaliana compared to the wild type. Six RB have been functionally identified, with RB1 and RB5 negatively regulating GOX-mediated host adaptability. The deliberate addition of RB1 and RB5 can negatively affect DBM herbivory and fitness. Our study provides a molecular basis for the further application of RB for insect pest management by modulating insect–plant interactions.