Elucidating the Mechanisms of Insect’s Chemical Taste to Understand Specific Host-Plant Selection

Información del proyecto

ChemoSense

Identificador del acuerdo de subvención: 705151

DOI

10.3030/705151

Proyecto cerrado

Fecha de la firma de la CE 16 Marzo 2016

Fecha de inicio 1 Diciembre 2016

Fecha de finalización 28 Enero 2019

Financiado con arreglo a

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

Coste total

€ 171 460,80

Aportación de la UE

€ 171 460,80

Coordinado por

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV
Germany

Objetivo

The sense of taste enables an animal to decide what it eats and drinks. Insects are able to discriminate among soluble chemicals via their gustatory receptors (GRs) in order to accept or reject a certain food plant or initiate mating and oviposition. Despite their essential role in the insect’s overall food intake, survival and reproductive success, relatively little is known about insect GRs, especially in beetles. This is surprising given their importance as agricultural and forestry pests, their global distribution and huge species number as herbivorous insects. I aim to identify and characterise GRs that mediate host plant selection in a specialist poplar leaf beetle, Chrysomela populi. These beetles feed on economically important poplar trees and damage timber plantations worldwide. It is hypothesised that the phenolic glucoside salicin in poplar is a major taste stimulant for C. populi and enhances feeding activity. However, it is unknown how salicin or, alternatively, other taste stimulants are detected by, and interact with specific GRs in C. populi to elicit feeding behaviour. I will elucidate these mechanisms by (i) identification of candidate genes encoding GRs in C. populi via tissue specific transcriptome sequencing and transcript visualisation via RNA-FISH, (ii) knock-down of single GR genes via RNAi to test the feeding behaviour of RNAi-silenced beetles, and (iii) test whether any of the taste stimulants from poplar function as in vivo and in vitro ligand for specific C. populi GRs by tissue-specific electrophysiological recordings and heterologous expression, respectively. These results will shed new light on the question how GRs function as regulators for herbivorous beetles to select and consume specific plants, which will significantly advance our knowledge in understanding host plant selection. As poplar leaf beetles are important pests, the results may also pave the way for timely development of sustainable pest management in forestry.

Ámbito científico (EuroSciVoc)

• ciencias agrícolas › agricultura, silvicultura y pesca › agricultura › agronomía › protección fitosanitaria
• ciencias naturales › ciencias biológicas › zoología › entomología
• ciencias agrícolas › agricultura, silvicultura y pesca › silvicultura

Palabras clave

• chemosensation
• gustatory receptors
• insect herbivory
• specialists
• insect-plant interactions

Programa(s)

• H2020-EU.1.3. - EXCELLENT SCIENCE - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions PROGRAMA PRINCIPAL
  
• H2020-EU.1.3.2. - Nurturing excellence by means of cross-border and cross-sector mobility
  

Tema(s)

• MSCA-IF-2015-EF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF-EF)
  

Régimen de financiación

MSCA-IF - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowships (IF)

Convocatoria de propuestas

H2020-MSCA-IF-2015

Coordinador

MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV

• Aportación neta de la UEn: € 171 460,80
• Dirección: HOFGARTENSTRASSE 8 ; 80539 MUNCHEN ; Alemania
• Región: Bayern › Oberbayern › München, Kreisfreie Stadt
• Tipo de actividad: Research Organisations
• Coste total: € 171 460,80