The pyrexia channel remodels egg‐laying of Liriomyza huidobrensis in response to temperature change

BACKGROUND

The pea leafminer, Liriomyza huidobrensis, is one of the most important insect pests on vegetables and ornamentals. The survival and egg‐laying behavior of leafminers are markedly affected by the environment temperature. However, the mechanisms underlying of the relationship between egg‐laying and temperature are still largely unknown.

RESULTS

Here, we find that leafminers have evolved an adaptive strategy to overcome the stress from high or low temperature by regulating oviposition‐punching plasticity. We further show that this oviposition‐punching plasticity is mediated by the expression of pyx in the ovipositor when subjected to disadvantageous temperature. Specifically, downregulation of pyx expression in leafminers under low temperature stress led to a significant decrease in the swing numbers of ovipositor and puncture area of the egg spot, and consequently the lower amount of egg‐laying compared to leafminers at ambient temperature. Conversely, activation of pyx expression under high temperature stress increased the swing numbers and puncture area, still resulting in a reduction of egg‐laying amount.

CONCLUSION

Thereby, leafminers is able to coordinate pyx channel expression level and accordingly depress the oviposition. Our study uncovers a molecular mechanism underlying the adaptive strategy in insects that can avoid disadvantageous temperature for reproducing offspring.

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