August 26, 2016
Researchers from the Max Planck
Institute for Chemical Ecology found that the specialist moth Heliothis subflexa benefits from
secondary plant components by turning the original defensive function of these
compounds into its own advantage. Withanolides, which are present in Physalis
plants, usually act as immune suppressants and feeding deterrents in insects.
Surprisingly, Heliothis subflexa uses
these plant defenses as immune-system boosters. Moreover, withanolides protect
the moth from harmful effects caused by pathogenic bacteria. The new study
demonstrates a unique benefit to host-plant specialization.
In order to survive and to repel
herbivores, many plants defend
themselves by producing toxic or deterrent substances. In the course of
evolution, many insects have succeeded in adapting to the defensive chemistry
of their host plants and thereby circumventing plants' defence mechanisms.
However, the plants have also adapted their defensive system to further protect
themselves against their enemies, which, in turn, generated counter-adaptations
in the insects; biologists refer to this phenomenon as an "evolutionary
arms race" between plants and insects. Many insects are plant pests which
can be categorized as "specialists" and "generalists."
Whereas generalists feed on many different plants, specialists have adapted to
one or few closely related plant species as their food. The moth species Heliothis subflexa analysed in this new
study is such a host specialist.
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