Accumulation of plastic waste is a serious threat to global sustainability. Insect gut bacterial symbionts are potential agents for up-recycling of waste plastics. Possibilities for engineering the insect gut microbiome for plastic degradation are discussed. Key challenges toward microbial degradation of plastics are discussed. Future directions to understand host–microbial interplay are elucidated.

The review article elucidates various roles of eicosanoids in insect immunity. Eicosanoids are produced from arachidonic acid, which is generated from membrane phospholipids upon action of PLA₂. Insect gut can aid in immunity by generating ROS. The generation of nitric oxide is an important agent stimulating insect immunity. Eicosanoid can also manifest immunity in insect by activating aquaporin and rearranging actin cytoskeleton.

Wings are vital organs for insects, which participate in multiple processes, such as foraging and mating. Insect wing development is a fascinating and intricate process that involves the regulation of wing size through cell proliferation and apoptosis, which are controlled by the Hippo pathway. Here, we discover that miR-927 is a novel regulator of wing size via the Hippo pathway on a post-transcriptional level. Next, we demonstrate that yki 3’ untranslated region is the direct target of miR-927. Ultimately, our study reveals that the targeting of yki by miR-927 to regulate the Hippo pathway is conserved in Helicoverpa armigera. Administration of miR-927 via star polycation nanocarrier effectively inhibits wing development in H. armigera.

A schematic diagram of the regulation of Galleria mellonella lipid metabolism by envenomation of the ectoparasitoid Iseropus kuwanae. After venom injection, the triglyceride (TG) level in the hemolymph of G. mellonella increased. The differentially expressed transcriptome between non-envenomed and envenomed G. mellonella larvae showed that GmPLA₂ was upregulated post-envenomation. Knocking down GmPLA₂ significantly decreased the content of TG and unsaturated fatty acids in the hemolymph of G. mellonella, and the reduction of host lipid level had a negative effect on the development of I. kuwanae offspring.

毒液注射之后, 大蜡螟血淋巴中甘油三酯含量下降。毒液注射前后大蜡螟差异转录组学分析结果表示, 大蜡螟PLA2基因在被毒液注射后上调表达。干扰pla2后, 大蜡螟血淋巴中甘油三酯含量以及脂肪酸含量显著下降, 并且寄主脂质水平的降低对寄生蜂子代的生长发育产生消极的影响。

During mating, the male accessory gland-specific phospholipase A2 is transferred to the seminal receptacle and the bursa copulatrix of the female as a seminal fluid protein, thereby activating the expression of the female WD46 gene, which regulates ovulation and fertility by affecting lipid accumulation and invocation.

We have established an efficient strategy for the large-scale and cost-effective production of bioactive human ciliary neurotrophic factor (CNTF) in silkworm. The fabrication of human CNTF silk material can promote proliferation, migration, and neurite outgrowth of neural cells. These data will provide biomedical applications in tissue engineering and neuroregeneration by using functionalized CNTF materials.

The cuticular proteins of the CPCFC protein family interact with chitin fibers, modifying their structure within the chitin network. These interactions enhance the energy absorption capacity of the cuticle structure and improve its toughness.

Galleria mellonella is an important pest in apiculture, as well as a resource insect and a model organism. The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR)/CRISPR-associated protein 9 (Cas9) system plays a crucial role in improving economic insect breeding and developing efficient agricultural pest management systems in Lepidoptera. However, the CRISPR/Cas9 protocols have not been developed for G. mellonella. Here, we established a CRISPR/Cas9 zygote microinjection protocol for inducing heritable mutations in G. mellonella. We obtained Gmebony knockout (KO) strain in the G4 generation, which took approximately 10 months. When compared with the wild-type, the body color of the larva to adult moth in the KO strain changed to black. The embryonic hatchability of the Gmebony KO strain was significantly decreased. In conclusion, this study is the first to present a complete and detailed CRISPR/Cas9 workflow for efficient genome editing in G. mellonella. The application of this robust genome-editing tool in G. mellonella will greatly facilitate the development of genome editing control strategies and gene function analyses in this important insect.

• Our model species, Ceratosolen fusciceps, a specialist wasp pollinator of Ficus racemosa, likely possesses an olfactory receptor (OR) repertoire that enables it to distinguish fig-specific volatiles in highly variable environments.• Using a newly assembled genome-guided transcriptome, we annotated 63 ORs in the species and reconstructed the phylogeny of Ceratosolen ORs in conjunction with other hymenopteran species.• Expression analysis indicated that although ORs were mainly expressed in the female antennae, 20% were also expressed in nonantennal tissues.• OR expression of C. fusciceps in widely separated geographical locations, that is, South (urban) and Northeast (rural) India, revealed distinct OR expression in different locations.• This discrepancy likely parallels the observed variation in fig volatiles between these regions and provides new insights into the evolution of insect ORs and their expression across geographical locations and tissues.

RNA interference (RNAi) of OBP14 and Orco lead to obvious defects in olfactory recognition. dsMsalOBP14- and dsMsalOrco-treated Monochamus saltuarius seem to lose most of their odorant-detecting capability.

PFK, ACC1, COL4A1, and PI3K (P110) were upregulated to promote the formation of adult fat body when 20E signal decreased.

Drosophila is highly susceptible to Bacillus cereus H1 infection. Morbidity and mortality of infected flies result from gut dysplasia. B. cereus H1 disrupted intestinal homeostasis, altering pH and barrier function, triggering oxidative innate immunity, which compromised the survival of Drosophila species through the dual oxidase (DUOX)-ROS-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) pathway.

Our study indicated that the host plant nutrient content is a predominant factor affecting aphid adaptation to their diet, initially affecting aphid feeding behaviors, and further affecting aphid fitness and Buchnera titers. Our study could deepen our understanding of the interaction among aphids, endosymbionts and host plants.

Ants are ubiquitous and eusocial insects that frequently interact with honey bees, potentially facilitating pathogen transmission. This study investigates the presence and abundance of honey bee pathogens in ants collected from various apiaries across Italy. Five viruses and one microsporidian have been detected in both adult ants and ant broods, suggesting ants as potential hosts for honey bee pathogens. These findings highlighted the presence of active infections in ants and underscored the necessity for further research to understand the potential relationship between honey bees and ants in pathogen transmission, ultimately ensuring the health of both ants and honey bees.

Schematic illustration summarizing the effects of phytoplasma infection on the performance and feeding behavior of above- and belowground insect herbivores as well as its effects on shoot and root traits in cranberries. The “+” symbol indicates a positive effect, while the “–” symbol indicates a negative effect.

Giant hornets, Vespa soror, have garnered significant attention due to their negative impact on honey bees. Our study identified the alarm pheromone components of V. soror, thus shedding new light on their defensive behavior and pose a way for managing and mitigating their ecological impact.

Aedes albopictus relies on odor cues to locate suitable oviposition sites, and the genetic and molecular bases of this behavior remain largely unknown. Transcriptomic analysis and gene manipulation techniques, such as RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated knockdown and CAS9/guide RNA-mediated knockout, highlighted the role of obp67 and obp56d-like in these behaviors, providing valuable insights for mosquito control strategies.

At 16 °C, Anisopteromalus calandrae completed the egg-to-larva development and pupated, while the development arrested at an early pupal stage. Parasitic wasps can be stored long-term at this temperature without adverse effects on the adaptability of the F1 generation.

Thermal tolerance and preference are key parameters impacting agricultural production systems. Results in this study reveal that black soldier fly thermal tolerance and preference were impacted by the larval diet composition. The nutritional makeup of the formulated diet used in mass production of the black soldier fly should be taken into account when developing standard operating procedures for temperature management in order to optimize black soldier fly conversion of waste to insect biomass as well as production of adults for colony maintenance. Vice versa, one may develop specific diets in order to promote survival under extreme rearing temperatures.

We demonstrated that the competition between intraspecific workers and males was potentially more intense than that observed in interspecific dynamics. However, floral resource partitioning between workers and males should result from their nutritional preferences. We found that males preferred flowers with high essential amino acids and hexose, whereas workers preferred flowers with high nectar volume and sucrose, suggesting that partitioning between workers and males might help to alleviate interspecific and intraspecific competition.

This study traces changes in the morphology of the forelegs across fossil and extant dictyopterans to understand their evolution from cursorial limbs to the raptorial morphologies of mantodeans. Two new mantodean specimens preserved in amber are described herein. A principal component anlysis shows that changes in the shape of the tibia and the length of the femur were key to the evolution of the raptorial appendages, changes which could have been associated with differen predatory strategies.