The Experts below are selected from a list of 249 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Tong-xian Liu - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Starvation Stress Causes Body Color Change and Pigment Degradation in Acyrthosiphon Pisum.
Frontiers in physiology, 2019Co-Authors: Xing-xing Wang, Yi Zhang, Jing-yun Zhu, Zhan-sheng Chen, Zhu-jun Feng, Tong-xian LiuAbstract:The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon Pisum (Harris), shows body color shifting from red to pale under starvation in laboratory condition. These body color changes reflect aphid’s adaptation to environmental stress. To understand the color-shifting patterns, the underlying mechanism and its biological or ecological functions, we measured the process of A. Pisum’s body color shifting patterns using a digital imagery and analysis system, conducted a series of biochemical experiments to determine the mechanism causing color change, and initiated biochemical and molecular analysis of energy reserves during color-shifting process. We found that the red morph of A. Pisum could shift their body color to pale when starved, and changed rapidly at a certain stress threshold. Once A. Pisum initiated the color-shifting process, the shifting could not be stopped or reversed even after they were re-introduced to food. We also discovered that the orange-red pigments may be responsible for the color shifting, and the shifting might be caused by the degradation of the pigments. The carbohydrate and lipid contents were correlated to the color fading in the red A. Pisum, and comparing analysis revealed that these reddish pigments might be used as backup energy. Color fading reflects an energy reserves re-organization under nutritional stress for A. Pisum; and surprisingly, the aphids in different body color exhibited diverse strategies in energy reserves storage and consuming.
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Starvation Stress Causes Body Color Change and Pigment Degradation in Acyrthosiphon Pisum
Frontiers Media S.A., 2019Co-Authors: Yi Zhang, Xing-xing Wang, Jing-yun Zhu, Zhan-sheng Chen, Zhu-jun Feng, Tong-xian LiuAbstract:The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon Pisum (Harris), shows body color shifting from red to pale under starvation in laboratory conditions. These body color changes reflect aphid’s adaptation to environmental stress. To understand the color-shifting patterns, the underlying mechanism and its biological or ecological functions, we measured the process of A. Pisum’s body color shifting patterns using a digital imagery and analysis system; we conducted a series of biochemical experiments to determine the mechanism that causes color change and performed biochemical and molecular analyses of the energy reserves during the color shifting process. We found that the red morph of A. Pisum could shift their body color to pale red, when starved; this change occurred rapidly at a certain stress threshold. Once A. Pisum initiated the process, the shifting could not be stopped or reversed even after food was re-introduced. We also discovered that the orange-red pigments may be responsible for the color shift and that the shift might be caused by the degradation of these pigments. The carbohydrate and lipid content correlated to the fading of color in red A. Pisum. A comparative analysis revealed that these reddish pigments might be used as backup energy. The fading of color reflects a reorganization of the energy reserves under nutritional stress in A. Pisum; surprisingly, aphids with different body colors exhibit diverse strategies for storage and consumption of energy reserves
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Pea aphid Acyrthosiphon Pisum sequesters plant-derived secondary metabolite L-DOPA for wound healing and UVA resistance
Scientific reports, 2016Co-Authors: Yi Zhang, Xing-xing Wang, Zhan-feng Zhang, Nan Chen, Jing-yun Zhu, Hong-gang Tian, Yongliang Fan, Tong-xian LiuAbstract:Herbivores can ingest and store plant-synthesized toxic compounds in their bodies, and sequester those compounds for their own benefits. The broad bean, Vicia faba L., contains a high quantity of L-DOPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine), which is toxic to many insects. However, the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon Pisum, can feed on V. faba normally, whereas many other aphid species could not. In this study, we investigated how A. Pisum utilizes plant-derived L-DOPA for their own benefit. L-DOPA concentrations in V. faba and A. Pisum were analyzed to prove L-DOPA sequestration. L-DOPA toxicity was bioassayed using an artificial diet containing high concentrations of L-DOPA. We found that A. Pisum could effectively adapt and store L-DOPA, transmit it from one generation to the next. We also found that L-DOPA sequestration verity differed in different morphs of A. Pisum. After analyzing the melanization efficiency in wounds, mortality and deformity of the aphids at different concentrations of L-DOPA under ultraviolet radiation (UVA 365.0 nm for 30 min), we found that A. Pisum could enhance L-DOPA assimilation for wound healing and UVA-radiation protection. Therefore, we conclude that A. Pisum could acquire L-DOPA and use it to prevent UVA damage. This study reveals a successful co-evolution between A. Pisum and V. faba.
Andrew J Flavell - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the genetic diversity and evolution of field pea Pisum studied by high throughput retrotransposon based insertion polymorphism rbip marker analysis
BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2010Co-Authors: Runchun Jing, Alexander V Vershinin, J Grzebyta, Paul William Shaw, Petr Smýkal, David Marshall, Mike Ambrose, Noel Ellis, Andrew J FlavellAbstract:The genetic diversity of crop species is the result of natural selection on the wild progenitor and human intervention by ancient and modern farmers and breeders. The genomes of modern cultivars, old cultivated landraces, ecotypes and wild relatives reflect the effects of these forces and provide insights into germplasm structural diversity, the geographical dimension to species diversity and the process of domestication of wild organisms. This issue is also of great practical importance for crop improvement because wild germplasm represents a rich potential source of useful under-exploited alleles or allele combinations. The aim of the present study was to analyse a major Pisum germplasm collection to gain a broad understanding of the diversity and evolution of Pisum and provide a new rational framework for designing germplasm core collections of the genus. 3020 Pisum germplasm samples from the John Innes Pisum germplasm collection were genotyped for 45 retrotransposon based insertion polymorphism (RBIP) markers by the Tagged Array Marker (TAM) method. The data set was stored in a purpose-built Germinate relational database and analysed by both principal coordinate analysis and a nested application of the Structure program which yielded substantially similar but complementary views of the diversity of the genus Pisum. Structure revealed three Groups (1-3) corresponding approximately to landrace, cultivar and wild Pisum respectively, which were resolved by nested Structure analysis into 14 Sub-Groups, many of which correlate with taxonomic sub-divisions of Pisum, domestication related phenotypic traits and/or restricted geographical locations. Genetic distances calculated between these Sub-Groups are broadly supported by principal coordinate analysis and these, together with the trait and geographical data, were used to infer a detailed model for the domestication of Pisum. These data provide a clear picture of the major distinct gene pools into which the genus Pisum is partitioned and their geographical distribution. The data strongly support the model of independent domestications for P. sativum ssp abyssinicum and P. sativum. The relationships between these two cultivated germplasms and the various sub-divisions of wild Pisum have been clarified and the most likely ancestral wild gene pools for domesticated P. sativum identified. Lastly, this study provides a framework for defining global Pisum germplasm which will be useful for designing core collections.
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gene based sequence diversity analysis of field pea Pisum
Genetics, 2007Co-Authors: Runchun Jing, Mike Ambrose, Maggie R. Knox, T Noel H Ellis, Richard Johnson, Andrea Seres, Gyorgy B Kiss, Andrew J FlavellAbstract:Sequence diversity of 39 dispersed gene loci was analyzed in 48 diverse individuals representative of the genus Pisum. The different genes show large variation in diversity parameters, suggesting widely differing levels of selection and a high overall diversity level for the species. The data set yields a genetic diversity tree whose deep branches, involving wild samples, are preserved in a tree derived from a polymorphic retrotransposon insertions in an identical sample set. Thus, gene regions and intergenic “junk DNA” share a consistent picture for the genomic diversity of Pisum, despite low linkage disequilibrium in wild and landrace germplasm, which might be expected to allow independent evolution of these very different DNA classes. Additional lines of evidence indicate that recombination has shuffled gene haplotypes efficiently within Pisum, despite its high level of inbreeding and widespread geographic distribution. Trees derived from individual gene loci show marked differences from each other, and genetic distance values between sample pairs show high standard deviations. Sequence mosaic analysis of aligned sequences identifies nine loci showing evidence for intragenic recombination. Lastly, phylogenetic network analysis confirms the non-treelike structure of Pisum diversity and indicates the major germplasm classes involved. Overall, these data emphasize the artificiality of simple tree structures for representing genomic sequence variation within Pisum and emphasize the need for fine structure haplotype analysis to accurately define the genetic structure of the species.
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insertional polymorphism and antiquity of pdr1 retrotransposon insertions in Pisum species
Genetics, 2005Co-Authors: Runchun Jing, Alexander V Vershinin, Mike Ambrose, Maggie R. Knox, Jennifer M Lee, T Noel H Ellis, Andrew J FlavellAbstract:Sequences flanking 73 insertions of the retrotransposon PDR1 have been characterized, together with an additional 270 flanking regions from one side alone, from a diverse collection of Pisum germ plasm. Most of the identified flanking sequences are repetitious DNAs but more than expected (7%) lie within nuclear gene protein-coding regions. The approximate age of 52 of the PDR1 insertions has been determined by measuring sequence divergence among LTR pairs. These data show that PDR1 transpositions occurred within the last 5 MY, with a peak at 1–2.5 MYA. The insertional polymorphism of 68 insertions has been assessed across 47 selected Pisum accessions, representing the diversity of the genus. None of the insertions are fixed, showing that PDR1 insertions can persist in a polymorphic state for millions of years in Pisum. The insertional polymorphism data have been compared with the age estimations to ask what rules control the proliferation of PDR1 insertions in Pisum. Relatively recent insertions ( ∼2.5 MYA) are mostly found in small subsets of Pisum. Finally, the average age estimate for PDR1 insertions, together with an existing data set for PDR1 retrotransposon SSAP markers, has been used to derive an estimate of the effective population size for Pisum of ∼7.5 × 105.
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Pea Ty1-copia group retrotransposons: transpositional activity and use as markers to study genetic diversity in Pisum
Molecular & general genetics : MGG, 2000Co-Authors: Stephen R. Pearce, Andrew J Flavell, Maggie R. Knox, T. H. N. Ellis, Amar KumarAbstract:The variation in transposition history of different Ty1-copia group LTR retrotransposons in the species lineages of the Pisum genus has been investigated. A heterogeneous population of Ty1-copia elements was isolated by degenerate PCR and two of these (Tps12 and Tps19) were selected on the basis of their copy number and sequence conservation between closely related species for further in-depth study of their transpositional history in Pisum species. The insertional polymorphism of these elements and the previously characterised PDR1 element was studied by sequence-specific amplification polymorphism (SSAP). Each of these elements reveals a unique transpositional history within 55 diverse Pisum accessions. Phylogenetic trees based on the SSAP data show that SSAP markers for individual elements are able to resolve different species lineages within the Pisum genus. Finally, the SSAP data from all of these retrotransposon markers were combined to reveal a detailed picture of the intra and inter-species relationships within Pisum.
Runchun Jing - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the genetic diversity and evolution of field pea Pisum studied by high throughput retrotransposon based insertion polymorphism rbip marker analysis
BMC Evolutionary Biology, 2010Co-Authors: Runchun Jing, Alexander V Vershinin, J Grzebyta, Paul William Shaw, Petr Smýkal, David Marshall, Mike Ambrose, Noel Ellis, Andrew J FlavellAbstract:The genetic diversity of crop species is the result of natural selection on the wild progenitor and human intervention by ancient and modern farmers and breeders. The genomes of modern cultivars, old cultivated landraces, ecotypes and wild relatives reflect the effects of these forces and provide insights into germplasm structural diversity, the geographical dimension to species diversity and the process of domestication of wild organisms. This issue is also of great practical importance for crop improvement because wild germplasm represents a rich potential source of useful under-exploited alleles or allele combinations. The aim of the present study was to analyse a major Pisum germplasm collection to gain a broad understanding of the diversity and evolution of Pisum and provide a new rational framework for designing germplasm core collections of the genus. 3020 Pisum germplasm samples from the John Innes Pisum germplasm collection were genotyped for 45 retrotransposon based insertion polymorphism (RBIP) markers by the Tagged Array Marker (TAM) method. The data set was stored in a purpose-built Germinate relational database and analysed by both principal coordinate analysis and a nested application of the Structure program which yielded substantially similar but complementary views of the diversity of the genus Pisum. Structure revealed three Groups (1-3) corresponding approximately to landrace, cultivar and wild Pisum respectively, which were resolved by nested Structure analysis into 14 Sub-Groups, many of which correlate with taxonomic sub-divisions of Pisum, domestication related phenotypic traits and/or restricted geographical locations. Genetic distances calculated between these Sub-Groups are broadly supported by principal coordinate analysis and these, together with the trait and geographical data, were used to infer a detailed model for the domestication of Pisum. These data provide a clear picture of the major distinct gene pools into which the genus Pisum is partitioned and their geographical distribution. The data strongly support the model of independent domestications for P. sativum ssp abyssinicum and P. sativum. The relationships between these two cultivated germplasms and the various sub-divisions of wild Pisum have been clarified and the most likely ancestral wild gene pools for domesticated P. sativum identified. Lastly, this study provides a framework for defining global Pisum germplasm which will be useful for designing core collections.
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gene based sequence diversity analysis of field pea Pisum
Genetics, 2007Co-Authors: Runchun Jing, Mike Ambrose, Maggie R. Knox, T Noel H Ellis, Richard Johnson, Andrea Seres, Gyorgy B Kiss, Andrew J FlavellAbstract:Sequence diversity of 39 dispersed gene loci was analyzed in 48 diverse individuals representative of the genus Pisum. The different genes show large variation in diversity parameters, suggesting widely differing levels of selection and a high overall diversity level for the species. The data set yields a genetic diversity tree whose deep branches, involving wild samples, are preserved in a tree derived from a polymorphic retrotransposon insertions in an identical sample set. Thus, gene regions and intergenic “junk DNA” share a consistent picture for the genomic diversity of Pisum, despite low linkage disequilibrium in wild and landrace germplasm, which might be expected to allow independent evolution of these very different DNA classes. Additional lines of evidence indicate that recombination has shuffled gene haplotypes efficiently within Pisum, despite its high level of inbreeding and widespread geographic distribution. Trees derived from individual gene loci show marked differences from each other, and genetic distance values between sample pairs show high standard deviations. Sequence mosaic analysis of aligned sequences identifies nine loci showing evidence for intragenic recombination. Lastly, phylogenetic network analysis confirms the non-treelike structure of Pisum diversity and indicates the major germplasm classes involved. Overall, these data emphasize the artificiality of simple tree structures for representing genomic sequence variation within Pisum and emphasize the need for fine structure haplotype analysis to accurately define the genetic structure of the species.
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insertional polymorphism and antiquity of pdr1 retrotransposon insertions in Pisum species
Genetics, 2005Co-Authors: Runchun Jing, Alexander V Vershinin, Mike Ambrose, Maggie R. Knox, Jennifer M Lee, T Noel H Ellis, Andrew J FlavellAbstract:Sequences flanking 73 insertions of the retrotransposon PDR1 have been characterized, together with an additional 270 flanking regions from one side alone, from a diverse collection of Pisum germ plasm. Most of the identified flanking sequences are repetitious DNAs but more than expected (7%) lie within nuclear gene protein-coding regions. The approximate age of 52 of the PDR1 insertions has been determined by measuring sequence divergence among LTR pairs. These data show that PDR1 transpositions occurred within the last 5 MY, with a peak at 1–2.5 MYA. The insertional polymorphism of 68 insertions has been assessed across 47 selected Pisum accessions, representing the diversity of the genus. None of the insertions are fixed, showing that PDR1 insertions can persist in a polymorphic state for millions of years in Pisum. The insertional polymorphism data have been compared with the age estimations to ask what rules control the proliferation of PDR1 insertions in Pisum. Relatively recent insertions ( ∼2.5 MYA) are mostly found in small subsets of Pisum. Finally, the average age estimate for PDR1 insertions, together with an existing data set for PDR1 retrotransposon SSAP markers, has been used to derive an estimate of the effective population size for Pisum of ∼7.5 × 105.
Yi Zhang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Starvation Stress Causes Body Color Change and Pigment Degradation in Acyrthosiphon Pisum.
Frontiers in physiology, 2019Co-Authors: Xing-xing Wang, Yi Zhang, Jing-yun Zhu, Zhan-sheng Chen, Zhu-jun Feng, Tong-xian LiuAbstract:The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon Pisum (Harris), shows body color shifting from red to pale under starvation in laboratory condition. These body color changes reflect aphid’s adaptation to environmental stress. To understand the color-shifting patterns, the underlying mechanism and its biological or ecological functions, we measured the process of A. Pisum’s body color shifting patterns using a digital imagery and analysis system, conducted a series of biochemical experiments to determine the mechanism causing color change, and initiated biochemical and molecular analysis of energy reserves during color-shifting process. We found that the red morph of A. Pisum could shift their body color to pale when starved, and changed rapidly at a certain stress threshold. Once A. Pisum initiated the color-shifting process, the shifting could not be stopped or reversed even after they were re-introduced to food. We also discovered that the orange-red pigments may be responsible for the color shifting, and the shifting might be caused by the degradation of the pigments. The carbohydrate and lipid contents were correlated to the color fading in the red A. Pisum, and comparing analysis revealed that these reddish pigments might be used as backup energy. Color fading reflects an energy reserves re-organization under nutritional stress for A. Pisum; and surprisingly, the aphids in different body color exhibited diverse strategies in energy reserves storage and consuming.
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Starvation Stress Causes Body Color Change and Pigment Degradation in Acyrthosiphon Pisum
Frontiers Media S.A., 2019Co-Authors: Yi Zhang, Xing-xing Wang, Jing-yun Zhu, Zhan-sheng Chen, Zhu-jun Feng, Tong-xian LiuAbstract:The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon Pisum (Harris), shows body color shifting from red to pale under starvation in laboratory conditions. These body color changes reflect aphid’s adaptation to environmental stress. To understand the color-shifting patterns, the underlying mechanism and its biological or ecological functions, we measured the process of A. Pisum’s body color shifting patterns using a digital imagery and analysis system; we conducted a series of biochemical experiments to determine the mechanism that causes color change and performed biochemical and molecular analyses of the energy reserves during the color shifting process. We found that the red morph of A. Pisum could shift their body color to pale red, when starved; this change occurred rapidly at a certain stress threshold. Once A. Pisum initiated the process, the shifting could not be stopped or reversed even after food was re-introduced. We also discovered that the orange-red pigments may be responsible for the color shift and that the shift might be caused by the degradation of these pigments. The carbohydrate and lipid content correlated to the fading of color in red A. Pisum. A comparative analysis revealed that these reddish pigments might be used as backup energy. The fading of color reflects a reorganization of the energy reserves under nutritional stress in A. Pisum; surprisingly, aphids with different body colors exhibit diverse strategies for storage and consumption of energy reserves
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Pea aphid Acyrthosiphon Pisum sequesters plant-derived secondary metabolite L-DOPA for wound healing and UVA resistance
Scientific reports, 2016Co-Authors: Yi Zhang, Xing-xing Wang, Zhan-feng Zhang, Nan Chen, Jing-yun Zhu, Hong-gang Tian, Yongliang Fan, Tong-xian LiuAbstract:Herbivores can ingest and store plant-synthesized toxic compounds in their bodies, and sequester those compounds for their own benefits. The broad bean, Vicia faba L., contains a high quantity of L-DOPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine), which is toxic to many insects. However, the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon Pisum, can feed on V. faba normally, whereas many other aphid species could not. In this study, we investigated how A. Pisum utilizes plant-derived L-DOPA for their own benefit. L-DOPA concentrations in V. faba and A. Pisum were analyzed to prove L-DOPA sequestration. L-DOPA toxicity was bioassayed using an artificial diet containing high concentrations of L-DOPA. We found that A. Pisum could effectively adapt and store L-DOPA, transmit it from one generation to the next. We also found that L-DOPA sequestration verity differed in different morphs of A. Pisum. After analyzing the melanization efficiency in wounds, mortality and deformity of the aphids at different concentrations of L-DOPA under ultraviolet radiation (UVA 365.0 nm for 30 min), we found that A. Pisum could enhance L-DOPA assimilation for wound healing and UVA-radiation protection. Therefore, we conclude that A. Pisum could acquire L-DOPA and use it to prevent UVA damage. This study reveals a successful co-evolution between A. Pisum and V. faba.
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Identification of G protein-coupled receptors in the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon Pisum.
Genomics, 2013Co-Authors: Xiaopei Yun, Yi Zhang, Ming Sang, Xing LiuAbstract:GPCRs play crucial roles in the growth, development and reproduction of organisms. In insects, a large number of GPCRs have been reported for Holometabola but not Hemimetabola. The recently sequenced pea aphid genome provides us with the opportunity to analyze the evolution and potential functions of GPCRs in Hemimetabola. 82 GPCRs were identified from the representative model hemimetabolous insect Acyrthosiphon Pisum, 37 of which have ESTs evidence, and 73 are annotated for the first time. A striking difference between A. Pisum, Drosophila melanogaster and Tribolium castaneum is the duplication of the kinin and SIFamide receptors in A. Pisum. Another divergence is the loss of the sulfakinin receptor in A. Pisum. These duplications/losses are likely involved in the osmoregulation, reproduction and energy metabolism of A. Pisum. Moreover, this work will promote functional analyses of GPCRs in A. Pisum and may advance new drug target discovery for biological control of the aphid.
Xing-xing Wang - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Starvation Stress Causes Body Color Change and Pigment Degradation in Acyrthosiphon Pisum.
Frontiers in physiology, 2019Co-Authors: Xing-xing Wang, Yi Zhang, Jing-yun Zhu, Zhan-sheng Chen, Zhu-jun Feng, Tong-xian LiuAbstract:The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon Pisum (Harris), shows body color shifting from red to pale under starvation in laboratory condition. These body color changes reflect aphid’s adaptation to environmental stress. To understand the color-shifting patterns, the underlying mechanism and its biological or ecological functions, we measured the process of A. Pisum’s body color shifting patterns using a digital imagery and analysis system, conducted a series of biochemical experiments to determine the mechanism causing color change, and initiated biochemical and molecular analysis of energy reserves during color-shifting process. We found that the red morph of A. Pisum could shift their body color to pale when starved, and changed rapidly at a certain stress threshold. Once A. Pisum initiated the color-shifting process, the shifting could not be stopped or reversed even after they were re-introduced to food. We also discovered that the orange-red pigments may be responsible for the color shifting, and the shifting might be caused by the degradation of the pigments. The carbohydrate and lipid contents were correlated to the color fading in the red A. Pisum, and comparing analysis revealed that these reddish pigments might be used as backup energy. Color fading reflects an energy reserves re-organization under nutritional stress for A. Pisum; and surprisingly, the aphids in different body color exhibited diverse strategies in energy reserves storage and consuming.
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Starvation Stress Causes Body Color Change and Pigment Degradation in Acyrthosiphon Pisum
Frontiers Media S.A., 2019Co-Authors: Yi Zhang, Xing-xing Wang, Jing-yun Zhu, Zhan-sheng Chen, Zhu-jun Feng, Tong-xian LiuAbstract:The pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon Pisum (Harris), shows body color shifting from red to pale under starvation in laboratory conditions. These body color changes reflect aphid’s adaptation to environmental stress. To understand the color-shifting patterns, the underlying mechanism and its biological or ecological functions, we measured the process of A. Pisum’s body color shifting patterns using a digital imagery and analysis system; we conducted a series of biochemical experiments to determine the mechanism that causes color change and performed biochemical and molecular analyses of the energy reserves during the color shifting process. We found that the red morph of A. Pisum could shift their body color to pale red, when starved; this change occurred rapidly at a certain stress threshold. Once A. Pisum initiated the process, the shifting could not be stopped or reversed even after food was re-introduced. We also discovered that the orange-red pigments may be responsible for the color shift and that the shift might be caused by the degradation of these pigments. The carbohydrate and lipid content correlated to the fading of color in red A. Pisum. A comparative analysis revealed that these reddish pigments might be used as backup energy. The fading of color reflects a reorganization of the energy reserves under nutritional stress in A. Pisum; surprisingly, aphids with different body colors exhibit diverse strategies for storage and consumption of energy reserves
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Pea aphid Acyrthosiphon Pisum sequesters plant-derived secondary metabolite L-DOPA for wound healing and UVA resistance
Scientific reports, 2016Co-Authors: Yi Zhang, Xing-xing Wang, Zhan-feng Zhang, Nan Chen, Jing-yun Zhu, Hong-gang Tian, Yongliang Fan, Tong-xian LiuAbstract:Herbivores can ingest and store plant-synthesized toxic compounds in their bodies, and sequester those compounds for their own benefits. The broad bean, Vicia faba L., contains a high quantity of L-DOPA (L-3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine), which is toxic to many insects. However, the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon Pisum, can feed on V. faba normally, whereas many other aphid species could not. In this study, we investigated how A. Pisum utilizes plant-derived L-DOPA for their own benefit. L-DOPA concentrations in V. faba and A. Pisum were analyzed to prove L-DOPA sequestration. L-DOPA toxicity was bioassayed using an artificial diet containing high concentrations of L-DOPA. We found that A. Pisum could effectively adapt and store L-DOPA, transmit it from one generation to the next. We also found that L-DOPA sequestration verity differed in different morphs of A. Pisum. After analyzing the melanization efficiency in wounds, mortality and deformity of the aphids at different concentrations of L-DOPA under ultraviolet radiation (UVA 365.0 nm for 30 min), we found that A. Pisum could enhance L-DOPA assimilation for wound healing and UVA-radiation protection. Therefore, we conclude that A. Pisum could acquire L-DOPA and use it to prevent UVA damage. This study reveals a successful co-evolution between A. Pisum and V. faba.
