Signal perception in plants is determinant to trigger specific physiological changes that confer resistance during the early stages of the insect attack. Thus, molecular characterization of both insect effectors and plant hormonal regulators are essential in developing forage grasses resistant to infestation by spittlebug Mahanarva spectabilis. We evaluated the presence of effectors in the salivary glands of M. spectabilis that could enable the infestation of elephant grass (Pennisetum purpureum). The presence of an NTPDase-like enzyme was confirmed, and higher activity was observed in females that hydrolyzed ADP. High levels of long chain fatty acids, such as octadecanoid acid (19.5%), prostaglandin A2 (4.7%), eicosanoid acid and the phytohormone salicylic acid (~4.0 μg/g) were also detected in the salivary glands. After 24 h of infestation, the phytohormone profiles were altered in leaves damaged by M. spectabilis, suggesting that the insect effectors modulate the plant response. Our results suggest that the plant response modulation may be the result of crosstalk between the salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, abscisic acid and zeatin pathways, induced by molecules from the salivary glands. This shows that the spittlebugs can interfere with jasmonic acid and zeatin accumulation in elephant grass plants.

中文翻译：

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Mahanarva spectabilis 唾液腺的分子分析和象草的植物激素反应

植物中的信号感知是触发特定生理变化的决定性因素，这些变化在昆虫攻击的早期阶段赋予抵抗力。因此，昆虫效应物和植物激素调节剂的分子特征对于开发抗 spittlebug Mahanarva spectabilis 侵染的牧草至关重要。我们评估了 M. spectabilis 唾液腺中效应子的存在，这些效应子可以使象草（Pennisetum purpureum）感染。证实了NTPDase样酶的存在，并且在水解ADP的雌性中观察到更高的活性。在唾液腺中也检测到高水平的长链脂肪酸，如十八烷酸 (19.5%)、前列腺素 A2 (4.7%)、类二十烷酸和植物激素水杨酸 (~4.0 μg/g)。侵染24小时后，被 M. spectabilis 损伤的叶子中的植物激素谱发生了改变，这表明昆虫效应物调节了植物反应。我们的研究结果表明，植物反应调节可能是唾液腺分子诱导的水杨酸、茉莉酸、脱落酸和玉米素途径之间串扰的结果。这表明 spittlebugs 可以干扰象草植物中茉莉酸和玉米素的积累。