Cyanogenic glycosides and plant-herbivore interactions

Abstract

Cyanogenic glycosides are nitrogen containing secondary metabolites which offer plant defense mechanism against herbivores while recently various insects have developed ability to detoxify, sequester and synthesize these cyanogenic compounds. Dhurrin was the first identified and isolated CNGs from young leaves of sorghum, Sorghum vulgare. The presence of CNGs were confirmed in few species of Chilopods, Diplopods, Heteropterans, Coleopterans and Lepidopterans. Linamarin and Lotaustralin were the major CNGs distributed in Lepidopterans. They have developed an ability to de novo synthesize CNGs and detoxify them with the help of β-cyanoalanine synthase and rhodonase. This may be due to the course of insect evolution or the genes responsible for the synthesis of CNGs may get transferred from plants to insects. In future, the responsive genes in these arthropods should be silenced and expansion of transgenic cyanogenic plants may encouraged to ensure plant defense mechanism.

“Lepidoptera Flies”, but Not Always…Interactions of Caterpillars and Chrysalis with Soil

“…In all of the following families, no species were found that develop in soil, litter, or use the mycelium of fungi: Agathiphagidae [39], Heterobathmiidae [40], Eriocraniidae [41], Lophocoronidae [42][43][44], Prototheoridae [44], Acanthopteroctetidae [45], Opostegidae [46,47], Nepticulidae [47,48], Andesianidae [49], Cecidosidae [50], Prodoxidae [51][52][53], Incurvariidae [54,55], Nematopogoninae [56], Heliozelidae [57], Tischeriidae [58], Palaephatidae [59], Yponomeutidae [60,61], Urodidae [62], Douglasiidae [63], Schreckensteiniidae [64], Choreutidae [65], Millieriidae [66], Immidae [67], Tortricidae [68][69][70], Heliocosmidae [71], Galacticidae [72,73], Zygaenoids [74][75][76], Lacturidae [77], Himantopteridae [78,79], Aididae [80], Megalopygidae [81,…”

“…Agathiphagidae [39], Heterobathmiidae [40], Prototheoridae [44], Andesianidae [49], Incurvariidae [54,55], Nematopogoninae [56], Adelidae [136], Heliozelidae [57], Tischeriidae [58], Palaephatidae [59], Psychidae [140], Yponomeutidae [60], Urodidae [72], Douglasiidae [73,160], Schreckensteiniidae [64], Choreutidae [65], Millieriidae [66], Immidae [67], Tortricidae [68][69][70], Heliocosmidae [71], Galacticidae [72,73], Zygaenoids [74,76], Lacturidae [77], Himantopteridae [78,79], Aididae [80], Megalopygidae [81,82], Limacodidae [83,84], Dalceridae [81,85], Cyclotornidae [86,87], Sesiidae [86,142], Dudgeoneidae [86], Cossidae [88,89], Cossulinae [90], Brachodidae…”

Targeted mutagenesis of the CYP79D1 gene via CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing results in lower levels of cyanide in cassava

“…Because most subsistence farmers choose highly cyanogenic cassava cultivars, these strategies have proved ineffective. The reasons for this preference include taste preference, herbivory reduction, and theft protection ( Naveena et al., 2021 ). Furthermore, cassava crops with a low cyanogenic potential do not produce a high yield of tubers owing to a reduced level of nitrogen transfer from the leaves to the roots, which is a precursor for the production of asparagine, an amino acid present in the roots ( Cressey and Reeve, 2019 ).…”