搜索结果：Plant signaling & behavior

Inflammation is closely linked to depression, and natural compounds show promise for treating inflammatory depression, though their mechanisms remain unclear. Eleutheroside B (EB), a key bioactive component of the classic Araliaceae plant Eleutherococcus senticosus with various central protective effects, but its antidepressant properties remain to be explored. The aim of this research is to investigate the antidepressant effect of EB and elucidate its underlying molecular mechanisms. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory depression model was used to induce inflammatory responses and depressive symptoms in mice. Behaviorally, novel object recognition (NOR), tail suspension test (TST) and sucrose preference test (SPT) were used to determine depression-like behaviors. Stereotactic brain injections were also performed. Molecularly, western blotting (WB) and immunofluorescence (IF) were used to detect the changes at the molecular level. Moreover, network pharmacology, molecular docking and molecular dynamics provided strong support for this study. LPS-induced depression mice showed significant neuroinflammation in the hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) and CA3, which was manifested as microglia activation (Iba1) and increased pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6). Continuous EB administration (100 mg/kg) significantly improved depressive-like behavior and reduced neuroinflammation in LPS mice. Network pharmacology identified TLR4 signaling as a potential EB target, which was validated by molecular docking (binding energy = -5.8 kcal/mol) and molecular dynamics simulations. Molecular experiments showed that EB significantly down-regulated the activation of TLR4/MyD88/NF-κB in the DG but had no effect on the CA3. EB administered directly in the DG has antidepressant effects. These behavioral outcomes were all significantly different in the DG but not CA3. Our findings establish that EB alleviates neuroinflammation and ameliorates depressive-like phenotypes in mice by suppressing TLR4 signaling specifically in the DG, providing novel insights into the molecular mechanism underlying the antidepressant activity of EB.

Plant-microbe interactions strongly influence plant growth and nutrient acquisition, and their outcomes depend on nutrient availability. The root endophyte Colletotrichum tofieldiae (Ct) promotes growth in Arabidopsis thaliana under inorganic phosphate (Pi) limitation, but its effects under Pi sufficiency and the role of salicylic acid (SA) signaling remain unclear. Here, we examined Pi-dependent growth responses, nutrient accumulation, and SA signaling in wild-type (WT) and SA-deficient ics1 mutant plants co-cultivated with Ct under low, moderate, and high Pi conditions (25, 150, and 625 µM). Under low Pi, Ct significantly enhanced WT growth, increasing leaf number and root length by 41.8% and 50.5%, respectively, and promoting biomass accumulation, with fresh and dry weight increases of 104% and 232% relative to uninoculated controls. Growth promotion was reduced at moderate Pi and shifted toward growth suppression under high Pi. Elemental profiling using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) revealed pronounced Ct-mediated nutrient accumulation under Pi limitation. At low Pi, phosphorus content increased by 281%, accompanied by significant increases in K (70.1%), S (84.5%), and Ca (73.2%). In contrast, at moderate and high Pi, Ct consistently enhanced P accumulation, while changes in K, S, and Ca were not significant. Ct colonization induced expression of the SA-responsive marker gene PR1, particularly under low Pi. In contrast, ics1 mutants failed to exhibit Ct-induced growth promotion and instead displayed growth suppression across all Pi conditions. Together, these findings demonstrate that Pi availability and ICS1-mediated SA biosynthesis jointly determine the outcome of the Arabidopsis-Ct interaction.

The biological control of phytophagous mites mediated by predatory mites promotes the maintenance of plant physiology by mitigating damage and preserving key traits related to photosynthesis and development. The immune system of plants, upon perceiving the presence of phytophagous mites, triggers signals mediated by reactive oxygen species (ROS). Under intense infestations, these redox signals can trigger oxidative stress, which compromises vital characteristics related to plant fitness. The use of pesticides as a management strategy is increasingly limited by resistance and collateral physiological impacts on plants. The release of predatory mites has emerged as an effective and sustainable biological approach. Predator-mediated foraging may suppress phytophagous mite infestations and mitigate the physiological stress of plants by limiting metabolic expenditures and physiological disturbances related to photosynthesis, growth, and reproduction. Thus, we review the benefits and risks of signals mediated by ROS in plants under attack by phytophagous mites. We conceptualize a stress state for plants under attack by these organisms and describe the benefits of foraging predatory mites reported in the literature from a meta-analytical perspective. Based on existing studies, we show that these natural enemies mitigate damage and the intensification of foliar chlorosis, limiting impacts on leaf area, the number of leaves, and the size of the plants. Furthermore, we speculate how the intensity of stress in the plant could act as a key point in the signals emitted to attract predatory mites. Finally, we emphasize the urgency of integrating this new perspective into future studies to improve the evaluation of the efficiency of natural enemies to benefit plant performance.

Asymmetric cell division (ACD) is a central mechanism that generates cellular diversity and tissue patterning in plants. Because they are constrained by rigid cell walls, plant cells often employ precisely oriented divisions to generate distinct daughter-cell fates. While classic studies have identified where ACD occurs and genetic studies have uncovered key regulators, the mechanisms linking early asymmetries to fate specification remain incompletely understood. Here, we synthesize insights from diverse plants and algae about symmetry-breaking in their zygotes and specialized cell lineages. We then discuss how initial asymmetries are translated into stable daughter-cell identities and how cells integrate positional information, lineage, and signaling networks to decide between self-renewal and differentiation. We also highlight emerging tools that could be applied to resolve current blind spots in symmetry breaking, asymmetric inheritance, and fate specification. Together, these perspectives reveal how plants repeatedly reinvent asymmetry to pattern tissues reproducibly yet flexibly, providing a framework to probe the mechanisms and evolution of plant ACD.

Pathogen manipulation of host behavior is a widespread evolutionary strategy to enhance its transmission, yet whether different pathogens elicit distinct behavioral and molecular responses in the same host remains poorly understood. We performed parallel behavioral assays and comparative transcriptomic analyses on third-instar Lymantria dispar larvae infected with Lymantria dispar multiple nucleopolyhedrovirus (LdMNPV, virus), Staphylococcus aureus (bacterium) and Metarhizium anisopliae (fungus). Climbing height was recorded over 72 h post-infection, and gene expression pattern was profiled using RNA-seq at 72 h. Only LdMNPV infection induced significant, sustained upward climbing behavior among the three pathogen infection groups. All three pathogens activated Toll and IMD immune pathways, but LdMNPV triggered substantially broader transcriptomic reprogramming. Notably, the virus specifically upregulated multiple energy metabolism pathways (nicotinate/nicotinamide metabolism, pyruvate metabolism, TCA cycle and oxidative phosphorylation) and the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction pathway-a pattern absent in bacterial and fungal infections. LdMNPV drove tree-top disease through a virus-specific, multi-system manipulation strategy that couples metabolic activation with neural signaling modulation. This comparative study reveals fundamental differences in behavioral manipulation across pathogen kingdoms and provides candidate pathways for functional validation.

The NAC (NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC1/2) family of transcription factors (TFs) play critical roles in regulating salt tolerance across diverse plant species. This study identified and characterized 101 NAC TFs in eggplant (Solanum melongena L.), revealing their diverse physicochemical properties, chromosomal distributions, and evolutionary relationships. Based on its salt stress-induced expression pattern and homology to known salt-responsive NAC factors, SmNAC28 was selected as a key candidate for functional investigation of salt tolerance. Expression profiling indicated that SmNAC28 is preferentially expressed in roots and stems, and its transcript levels are modulated by salt stress. Subcellular localization confirmed that SmNAC28 localizes to both the plasma membrane and nucleus, a dynamic distribution regulated by S-palmitoylation. Under normal conditions, SmNAC28 is anchored to the plasma membrane and nucleus via S-palmitoylation; upon salt stress exposure, it undergoes depalmitoylation and translocates to the nucleus. Using a hairy root transformation system in eggplant, we demonstrated that overexpression of SmNAC28 in roots significantly enhanced salt tolerance by mitigating oxidative damage, maintaining ion homeostasis, and promoting osmotic adjustment. Analysis of transcript levels further revealed that SmNAC28 overexpression upregulated ion transporter genes (NHX2, CHXs), signaling genes (CIPKs), and the proline biosynthesis gene (P5CS), which demonstrated that SmNAC28 integrates antioxidant defense, ion homeostasis, and osmotic regulation to confer salt tolerance. This study reveals the response mechanism of SmNAC28 to salt stress of the eggplant transcription factor SmNAC28 under salt stress, and provided a research foundation for salt tolerance breeding.

Biomolecular condensates are membrane-less assemblies that selectively concentrate proteins, RNAs, and metabolites to integrate developmental and environmental cues. The remarkable diversity of plant condensates reflects the constraints of sessile organisms that must coordinate postembryonic organ development with continuous environmental adaptation. We review how plants employ condensates to integrate temperature, light, redox, and nutrient signals. We provide physicochemical foundations, including phase diagram behavior, critical solution temperature properties, and sticker-and-spacer models, as a framework for interpreting how environmental stimuli are transduced into condensate assembly/disassembly. We organize each biological system through a unified scaffold-client-RNA-metabolite framework, distinguishing experimentally validated conclusions from open mechanistic questions. Applying this framework across nuclear, cytoplasmic, chloroplastic, and membrane-associated condensates, we evaluate how temperature shifts, redox changes, post-translational modifications, and metabolite fluctuations drive reversible phase transitions. We highlight how saturation concentration thresholds function as nonlinear filters buffering environmental noise, how membrane-associated phase separation may nucleate cytoplasmic condensates, and where current evidence remains insufficient to distinguish bona fide liquid-liquid phase separation from alternative assembly mechanisms. By grounding plant condensate biology in physicochemical principles and comparative evidential analysis, we identify both well-supported mechanisms and critical gaps that must be addressed to translate condensate-biology into strategies for crop-resilience.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) remains one of the most prevalent malignancies worldwide and is the second largest contributor to both incidence and mortality, underscoring the urgent need for effective prevention strategies. This comprehensive review provides the most up-to-date evidence on the protective role of plant-based dietary patterns against CRC carcinogenesis, with particular emphasis on underlying cellular and molecular level mechanisms. Accumulating research demonstrates that plant-based foods, rich in dietary fibre, polyphenols, and multiple other bioactive compounds, promote gut microbial eubiosis, support immune regulation, and modulate adipose tissue homeostasis. These effects are accompanied by intestinal barrier integrity, enhanced production of short-chain fatty acids, and the induction of apoptosis in malignant cells. Moreover, plant-derived nutrients reduce the abundance of pro-inflammatory microbial taxa, decrease oxidative, nitrosative and carbonyl stress, and downregulate pro-inflammatory cytokines and signalling pathways, implicated in tumourigenesis. As a result, plant-based dietary patterns have high potential to reduce CRC risk through modulating the intricate interplay between epigenetics, inflammation, immune dysregulation, metabolic and hormonal disruptions, and gut microbiota, suggesting a highly promising, cost-effective and equitable strategy for CRC prevention.

γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is the predominant inhibitory transmitter in the vertebrate nervous system. Fast inhibitory signaling is mediated by type A GABA receptors (GABAARs). While GABA is also present in plants and prokaryotes, it is unknown when it was first used for fast neuronal transmission. Cnidaria represent a sister group to all Bilateria and possess a variety of putative GABAARs, none of which has been functionally characterized. In this study, we surveyed putative inhibitory ion channel receptors from four different cnidarians. Phylogenetic analysis reveals a surprising phylogenetic complexity of these receptors. While the majority form a cnidarian-specific radiation, others cluster with bilaterian receptors. We functionally analyze seven putative Nematostella GABAARs of the cnidarian radiation and find that none is activated by GABA or glycine, whereas three are activated by glutamate. Using site-directed mutagenesis, we identify a lysine residue in the canonical ligand-binding pocket that is important for activation by glutamate. Our results identify a group of inhibitory ion channel receptors in Cnidaria that use glutamate as a ligand. Moreover, they suggest that inhibitory ion channel receptors in Cnidaria massively diversified, which may have been instrumental in the evolution of complex behaviors and sensory processing by the cnidarian nervous system.

The Zingiberaceae family has long been used in traditional medicine due to its rich array of secondary metabolites. However, its low bioavailability, limited stability in its native form, degradation during digestion, and poor solubility in water all restrict its absorption in the human body. Fermentation represents an effective biotechnological method for modifying the phytochemical composition and potentially enhancing its pharmacological effects. This study aims to explore the impact of fermentation on Zingiberaceae, focusing on the alteration of phytochemical profiles and the enhancement of pharmacological activities. Articles were sourced from the Scopus and PubMed databases and filtered for publications between 2015 and 2025; there were 2 articles that were electronically removed before screening due to duplication, yielding 62 articles. These articles were then further screened based on titles, abstracts, and full texts, resulting in five relevant studies. Fermentation was found to improve the phytochemical profile, influenced by the microbial strains used and the physicochemical properties of the phytochemicals. The fermentation process enhanced the stability of compounds, such as converting 6-gingerol to 6-shogaol and transforming glycosides into aglycones, which are more easily absorbed by the body. Additionally, fermentation increased phenolic and flavonoid content, accompanied by enhanced antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Pharmacologically, in vitro studies showed that fermented extracts modulate cytokine signaling pathways in immune cells while enhancing anti-aging properties and skin barrier protection. Meanwhile, in vivo studies demonstrated improvements in metabolic regulation and neuroprotective effects in cognitive disorders. Further mechanistic investigations are needed to clarify the pathways through which fermentation influences the behavior of phytoconstituents and their pharmacological performance. This review provides an overview of preclinical fermentation studies on Zingiberaceae plants, both in vitro and in vivo, with a focus on their phytochemical composition and effectiveness in enhancing pharmacological activity.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks common receptors and exhibits aggressive behavior, limiting treatment options due to drug resistance and systemic toxicity. TNBC chemotherapy is hindered by poor tumor targeting, drug resistance, and systemic toxicity. Herein, this study presented a cascade targeting exosomal-cisplatin synergistic microneedle nanoplatform (CDDP@RKTExo-MN) as an intelligent wearable therapeutic device for TNBC treatment. Medicinal plant Taxus chinensis derived exosomes (TExo), carrying therapeutic miRNA, was synergized with cisplatin that induced ER stress to trigger a multimodal anti-tumor effects. The cisplatin-loaded TExo was further modified with αvβ3 integrin peptides and an ER-targeting motif for tumor homing and precise subcellular delivery. Leveraging the superficial localization of TNBC, the engineered TExo was integrated into a 3D-printed microneedle patch to construct a closed-loop transdermal delivery system (CDDP@RKTExo-MN). This bioactive architecture ensures precise drug delivery at the tumor site, effectively maximizing therapeutic efficacy while circumventing the systemic off-target toxicity inherent to conventional delivery strategies. CDDP@RKTExo-MN was shown for the cascade targeting capabilities with both cancer cells and their endoplasmic reticulums. By coordinated regulation of MAPK and TNF pathways, the system generated synergistic effects in both significantly amplifying apoptotic signaling and activating immunological protection. In vivo studies conclusively validated its superior tumor suppression efficacy alongside a favorable biosafety.

Bioactive triterpenoids present in plant-derived foods are emerging as modulators of metabolic health, although their molecular targets and mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we characterize Pomolic acid and Hederagenin, two pentacyclic triterpenoids from Rosa canina, as antagonists and selective modulators of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ). Both compounds reduced lipid accumulation during 3T3-L1 adipocyte differentiation and antagonized rosiglitazone-induced PPARγ transactivation without intrinsic agonist activity. Pomolic acid behaved as a neutral antagonist, repressing adipogenic and lipogenic gene expression and preventing TRAP220 recruitment. In contrast, Hederagenin selectively modulated PPARγ target genes involved in lipid handling while limiting triglyceride accumulation. TR-FRET assays confirmed direct binding to the receptor, and molecular dynamics simulations revealed a betulinic acid─like binding mode that destabilizes helices H11-H12 and disrupts the AF-2 coactivator interface. These findings provide mechanistic insight into how structurally related dietary triterpenoids modulate PPARγ signaling and support them as candidates for metabolic disease strategies.

Flavonoids bridge plant defence and acclimation, helping land plants translate UV-B/high light, drought, heat, salinity, and cold into metabolic and physiological change. Recent studies map lineage biases in flavonoid scaffolds and show that core enzymes assemble into endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-associated metabolons, with auxiliary reactions detected at the tonoplast and in the nucleus. After synthesis, cellular pools are set by ABC and MATE transporters, GST ligandins, and vesicle-mediated trafficking. Regulatory layers include MBW-centred transcription-factor networks wired into Ca2+, ROS, and JA/SA/ABA signalling, while late tailoring (hydroxylation, glycosylation, O-methylation, and acylation) modulates solubility, stability, localisation, and bioactivity. Under UV, drought, high temperature, salt stress, freezing, nutrient imbalance, and metal toxicity, distinct chemotypes contribute to photoprotection and to biotic defence as phytoalexins and anti-herbivore deterrents. We propose that flavonoids act not only as redox-active, membrane-protective metabolites but also as signals that reset transcriptional and hormonal programmes; pathogens and insects can blunt this interface via detoxification, efflux, and enzymatic breakdown. Key quantitative gaps include in vivo antioxidant weight relative to enzyme cycles, branch-specific flux partitioning, and links between tissue patterning and protection. Priorities are outlined for deploying stress-responsive flavonoid repertoires to boost crop resilience under combined stresses without yield penalties.

Plant regeneration exemplifies the remarkable developmental plasticity of plants, yet how regenerative programs are initiated and spatially restricted after damage has remained unclear. Recent work supports a damage-first model in which wound-derived signals establish local competence and contextual cues that permit subsequent developmental outcomes. Signals arising from cell wall disruption, mechanical stress, metabolic changes, and wound-induced peptides act analogously to damage-associated molecular patterns in immunity, licensing transient cellular plasticity in a spatially constrained manner. Stress-responsive transcriptional regulators integrate these cues with hormone-mediated execution programs, notably auxin- and cytokinin-driven patterning, and with chromatin-based mechanisms that stabilize new developmental states. Regeneration thus emerges as a selectively gated outcome of damage perception, balanced against rapid wound closure and defense. This conceptual advance provides a cellular framework to study regeneration across different systems and highlights the potential of spatial and multimodal approaches as key tools for resolving regenerative competence.

Investigating the evolution of functional genes in non model plants is often hindered by the lack of reference genomes and transcriptomic resources, especially for taxa inhabiting extreme environments. Here, focusing on the salidroside biosynthesis pathway in the medicinal alpine genus Rhodiola, we asked whether genome skimming data could be used to test three a priori predictions: predominant purifying selection across most pathway genes, lineage specific shifts in selective constraint under heterogeneous environments, and corresponding differences in predicted protein binding properties. We integrated genome skimming with codon based selection analyses, environmental variable analysis, and two deep learning based tools, Evo2 for nucleotide level conservation scoring and AlphaFold 3 for protein structure prediction, to reconstruct phylogenies, detect selection signals, and evaluate relative binding patterns through molecular docking. Functional genes were mined using GeneMiner2, and phylogenetic signal analyses were performed with RASP to examine associations between gene evolutionary patterns and climatic or edaphic factors across 18 Rhodiola species. A total of 37 target genes, including 4HPAAS, 4HPAR1, 4HPAR2, and 34 UGT family members, were retrieved with a mean recovery rate of 96.7%. Six genes (4HPAAS, 4HPAR2, UGT3, UGT9, UGT20, and UGT21) showed strong purifying selection, high structural conservation, and significant phylogenetic signals correlated with diurnal temperature range and precipitation gradients. Divergence time estimation placed functional gene diversification in the late Pliocene-early Quaternary, coinciding with major uplift events of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Comparative phylogenetic regressions (PIC and PGLS), together with PAML tests, further highlighted three candidate FGs (4HPAR2, UGT10 and UGT26) showing lineage-specific shifts in selective constraint associated with environmental gradients. This study illustrates that genome skimming data, combined with codon based and AI based analyses, can be used to test biologically grounded predictions about the evolution of functional genes in non model plants. Our results remain preliminary, but they identify a small set of candidate genes for future functional and ecological validation.

Extracellular ATP (eATP) and L-Glutamic acid (L-Glu) are important damage associated molecular pattern (DAMP) molecules released from cells during injury. Both molecules trigger wound-associated signal transduction pathways, as well as the enhanced production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) by the RESPIRATORY BURST OXIDASE HOMOLOG D (RBOHD) protein. However, whether eATP and L-Glu trigger overlapping or distinct pathways is mostly unknown. Here we report that Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) responses to eATP or L-Glu are distinct from each other in terms of tissue specificity and transcriptomic responses. Thus, although both DAMPs trigger the expression of multiple wounding and hormone response transcripts in systemic tissues, eATP and L-Glu induced transcripts have little overlap between them. We further show that wounding of different tissues may result in ROS responses that are controlled by different DAMP receptors. Thus, activation of ROS production following injury of non-vascular tissues primarily depended on the eATP receptors PURINORECEPTOR 2 KINASE 1 and 2 (P2K1P2K2), while activation of ROS responses in vascular tissues following injury primarily depended on the L-Glu receptors GLU-LIKE RECEPTORS 3.3 and 3.6 (GLR3.3GLR3.6). Interestingly, we found that in the absence of the GLR3.3GLR3.6 receptors (i.e., in the glr3.3glr3.6 double mutant), the ROS response to eATP application is enhanced. This finding suggests that the L-Glu pathway may suppress the eATP pathway during wounding. Taken together, our findings suggest that the DAMP molecules eATP and L-Glu have complex interactions that appear to be both partly complementary and partly antagonistic, as well as tissue dependent.

Signal-induced augmentation of physiologically active metabolites in edible plants represents a promising approach for the development of high-value-added natural biological resources. Nevertheless, despite the potential of signaling molecules such as ethylene (ETL) to regulate plant metabolism, there are limited systematic studies comparing their organ-specific effects. Therefore, we conducted this comparative study to investigate the effects of ETL treatment on biomass production, accumulation of bioactive metabolites, and associated biological activities in soybean (Glycine max) and mung bean (Vigna radiata) leaves. ETL exposure slightly reduced the plant height and significantly decreased the biomass in both species. Remarkably, ETL-treated mung bean leaves (ML) exhibited the highest total phenolic (24.22 mg GAE/g) and flavonoid (9.89 mg RE/g) contents, whereas soybean leaves (SL) demonstrated greater diversity and accumulation of amino acids such as γ-aminobutyric acid, leucine, and tyrosine. After ETL treatment, the total isoflavone contents increased markedly from 1440.43 to 8703.14 µg/g in SL (~6-folds) and from 2697.71 to 42,708.64 µg/g in ML (~16-folds), indicating a marked increase in isoflavonoid accumulation following ETL treatments. ETL treatment also improved the antioxidant capacity and digestive enzyme inhibition, with ML exhibiting greater radical scavenging activity and stronger inhibitory effects on lipase and α-glucosidase. DNA protection assays further indicated enhanced DNA protective effects against oxidative damage in vitro in both species. Overall, ETL-treated mung bean leaves showed the highest accumulation of secondary metabolites among the tested samples. Altogether, these results indicate that ETL elicits species-dependent differences in metabolite accumulation patterns and associated in vitro bioactivities, highlighting its potential as an elicitor-based approach for enhancing functional plant resources under controlled cultivation conditions.

The success of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) as a biocontrol agent against Phyllotreta striolata is influenced by the pest's ability to detect and avoid the toxin. Insects detect odorant molecules through a series of steps involving their transport within the sensillar lymph, interaction with sensory receptors, and eventual inactivation. Odorant-degrading enzymes (ODEs) play a key role in this process by rapidly breaking down odorants near the receptors, helping to reset olfactory signals. This study investigates how ODEs contribute to the behavioral resistance of P. striolata to Bt. Behavioral assays using a Y-tube olfactometer confirmed that at sublethal concentrations (LC25 and LC50), beetles exhibited avoidance behavior, preferentially choosing control over Bt-treatment. Antennal transcriptome analysis revealed 32,604 DEGs, with significant enrichment in chemosensory pathways. Two antenna enriched ODEs, PstrCYP4c1 and PstrEst-FE4, were identified as highly upregulated genes upon Bt exposure via weighted gene co-expression network analysis, with RT-qPCR validation confirming their enrichment in the antennae. Functional disruption through RNA interference (RNAi) revealed that silencing these genes impaired avoidance behavior at sublethal concentrations, with a corresponding increase in mortality. Four odorant receptors (PstrOR6, PstrOR4, PstrOR2, PstrOR) were also upregulated upon Bt exposure and their expression was seen to be reduced in PstrCYP4c1 and PstrEst-FE4 silenced beetles, confirming their role in Bt odorant detection. These findings highlight the critical role of ODEs in the olfactory-based resistance of P. striolata to Bt, providing new insights into insect behavioral adaptations to microbial control agents and suggesting strategies to improve the efficacy of biopesticides by targeting chemosensory pathways.

Drought response in plants is complex, involving integration across a range of physiological processes. However, our knowledge of how different mechanisms of drought response are linked at the genetic level is limited. We investigated multi-trait adaptation in Arabidopsis thaliana from the Cape Verde Islands (CVI). Using a high-throughput phenotyping platform that minimizes spatial heterogeneity, we measured variation in rosette area, growth rate, leaf color, water use efficiency (WUE), and stomatal patterning under precisely controlled water conditions. Relative to the Moroccan outgroup, CVI populations evolved earlier flowering, a smaller rosette size with faster growth, and reduced WUE, consistent with drought escape adaptation. Genome-wide association mapping revealed evidence for pleiotropy involving MPK12 (WUE, rosette area, growth rate, and leaf color), NHL26 (WUE and leaf color), SUVH4 (stomatal patterning, rosette area, and leaf color), and FRI (flowering time, WUE, and leaf color), along with an enrichment of signals in ABA response. This study advances our knowledge of the genetic mechanisms driving plant adaptation to a novel precipitation environment. By identifying key genetic components and their contributions to multi-trait adaptation, our findings offer insights into how plants respond to environmental challenges and contribute to predicting plant responses to future climate change.