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ViewAttendees 2

Section Symposium

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Utilizing 'Omics' Approaches to Understand Plant-insect Interactions

Transcriptomics reveals possible effectors and host plant manipulation by the gall midge, Contarinia nasturtii

Wednesday, November 8, 2023
9:05 AM – 9:25 AM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Maryland 1-2
In-Person

    Presenting Author(s)

  • BM

    Boyd Mori

    Assistant Professor
    University of Alberta
    Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

    • Co-author(s)

  • DH

    Dwayne D. Hegedus

    Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada
    Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

The ability to induce a gall is considered one of the most complex interactions between plants and insects. Many insects, including gall midges, produce ‘effectors’ that modulate plant defense responses, modify the host plant, and make it conducive to feeding. The swede midge, Contarinia nasturtii (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), is a serious pest of Brassica vegetable and canola (Brassica napus and B. rapa L.) crops in Europe and eastern North America. Females lay eggs on meristematic tissues where subsequent larvae feed results in swollen and distorted leaves, shoots, and buds, which surround the larvae forming a gall. Using a transcriptomic approach, we have preliminarily characterized effectors within the first instar larval C. nasturtii salivary gland transcriptome: 2,165 of 28,850 annotated proteins were predicted to be secreted, and 1,108 (47%) were unique to C. nasturtii. In addition, we conducted a time series transcriptome study of B. napus following infestation by C. nasturtii, which offers vast insight into the genes involved in plant manipulation. The results of these experiments reveal the manipulation of plant defenses in response to C. nasturtii infestation and explore insect gall-inducer plant interactions which may aid in the search for alternative sources for plant resistance.