Publications by authors named "Cai Tingwei"

Endosymbionts play a crucial role in insect physiology and adaptation. Here, we present a protocol for isolation, cultivation, and artificial infection of the Arsenophonus endosymbiont of Nilaparvata lugens. We describe steps for symbiont isolation, in vitro culture maintenance, genetic modification, and host reinfection.

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Mounting evidence indicates that symbionts play a beneficial role through secondary metabolic compounds and various chemical processes in host adaptation to adversity, particularly in herbivorous insects whose survival is severely threatened by insecticides or secondary metabolite stress. Despite extensive research on insect symbionts, the spread of these beneficial symbionts and the correlation with host phenotypes limit our ability to predict and manage the adaptive capabilities of insect populations in changing environments. In this review, we propose the concept of "Mobile Resistance Elements (MRE)" to describe the dynamic and adaptable nature of resistance-related symbionts that can be transmitted between insect hosts.

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Article Synopsis
  • Facultative vertically transmitted symbionts are common in insects and can significantly influence their characteristics, but studying them is challenging due to difficulties in culturing these microbes and a lack of genetic tools.
  • Research on the brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens) revealed that a specific symbiont, Ca. Arsenophonus nilaparvatae, can be cultured and its entire genome sequenced, demonstrating its role in increasing the insect's susceptibility to insecticides.
  • The study also showed that this symbiont could be passed down to offspring, impacting the host's detoxification system, which has important implications for pest control and insecticide application strategies.
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  • The study explores how the RNA interference (RNAi) efficiency of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) in feeding Nilaparvata lugens (a type of insect) is hindered by a specific endonuclease enzyme found in their gut.
  • Researchers identified a gene for this endonuclease, which is significantly active in the early development stages of the insect and suggests it disrupts oral RNAi when dsRNA is fed.
  • The findings indicate that the presence of this endonuclease reduces the stability of dsRNA in the gut, highlighting a potential target for improving RNAi strategies in managing insect pests like N. lugens.
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The block copolymer micelles and natural biopolymers were utilized to form layer-by-layer (LbL) films via electrostatic interaction, which were able to effectively load and controllably release favipiravir, a potential drug for the treatment of coronavirus epidemic. The LbL films demonstrated reversible swelling/shrinking behavior along with the manipulation of temperature, which could also maintain the integrity in the structure and the morphology. Due to dehydration of environmentally responsive building blocks, the drug release rate from the films was decelerated by elevating environmental temperature and ionic strength.

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Introduction: Pseudomyxoma peritonei (PMP) is a disease characterized by progressive accumulation of intraperitoneal mucinous ascites produced by neoplasms in the abdominal cavity. Since the prognosis of patients with PMP remains unsatisfactory, the development of effective therapeutic drug(s) is a matter of pressing concern. Genetic analyses of PMP have clarified the frequent activation of GNAS and/or KRAS.

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Insects are frequently exposed to a range of insecticides that can alter the structure of the commensal microbiome. However, the effects of exposure to non-target pesticides (including non-target insecticides and fungicides) on insect pest microbiomes are still unclear. In the present study, we exposed Nilaparvata lugens to three target insecticides (nitenpyram, pymetrozine, and avermectin), a non-target insecticide (chlorantraniliprole), and two fungicides (propiconazole and tebuconazole), and observed changes in the microbiome's structure and function.

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Article Synopsis
  • Previous research indicates fungicides can act as insecticides, potentially helping manage resistance in the brown planthopper (N. lugens).
  • The study identified tebuconazole as the most effective fungicide against N. lugens, showing it significantly inhibits genes related to chitin synthesis and ecdysteroid production, which are vital for insect growth and transformation.
  • Tebuconazole also alters the symbiotic fungi associated with N. lugens, suggesting its insecticidal effects may stem from disrupting normal molting processes and microbial balances, offering insights for future pest management strategies.
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Microbiome-mediated insecticide resistance is an emerging phenomenon found in insect pests. However, microbiome composition can vary by host genotype and environmental factors, but how these variations may be associated with insecticide resistance phenotype remains unclear. In this study, we compared different field and laboratory strains of the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens in their microbiome composition, transcriptome, and insecticide resistance profiles to identify possible patterns of correlation.

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Using surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP), block polymers with a series of quaternization degrees were coated on the surface of silica nanocapsules (SNCs) by the "grafting-from" technique. Molnupiravir, an antiviral medicine urgently approved for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2, was encapsulated in polymer-coated SNCs and further incorporated into well-defined films with polystyrene sulfonate (PSS) homopolymers by layer-by-layer (LBL) self-assembly via electrostatic interactions. We investigated the impact of the quaternization degree of the polymers and steric hindrance of functional groups on the growth mode, swelling/deswelling transition, and drug-delivering efficiency of the obtained LBL films.

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As a most promising formaldehyde-free crosslinking agent for the antiwrinkle treatment of cotton fabrics, 1,2,3,4-butanetetracarboxylic acid (BTCA) has been explored for many years to replace the traditional -methylol resin. However, the current methodology for preparing antiwrinkle cotton fabrics with BTCA mainly highlights the troublesome problem of higher curing temperature. In this research, a novel strategy with the aid of dimethyl sulfone (MSM) was developed to decrease the curing temperature of BTCA for fabricating antiwrinkle cotton fabrics, which is an eco-friendly additive with low price and wonderful biocompatibility.

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  • J. E. Smith is a significant crop pest affecting various plants in China, including corn and rice, with unclear effects on different host plants.
  • The study found that larvae showed no strong preference for corn over rice, but the rice-fed strain had delayed development, while the corn-fed strain showed better insecticide resistance and higher detoxification enzyme activity.
  • The research highlights how diet influences the pests' adaptability and resistance, suggesting that tailored resistance management strategies can be developed based on the pests’ host plant preferences and physiological responses.
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The brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), is one of the most destructive pests that seriously threatens the high-quality and safe production of rice. However, due to the unscientific use of chemical insecticides, N. lugens has developed varying levels of resistance to insecticides, including nitenpyram and clothianidin.

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Odorant binding protein (OBP) can interact with small-molecule compounds insecticides and thereby modulate variation in insecticide susceptibility in insects. However, the regulatory mechanism of OBP-mediated insecticide resistance in Nilaparvata lugens, a destructive rice pest in Asia, remains unclear. Here, we explored the role of NlOBP3 in the resistance of N.

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Monitoring is an important component of insecticide resistance management. In this study, resistance monitoring was conducted on 18 field populations in China. The results showed that developed high levels of resistance to chlorpyrifos and buprofezin, and showed low to moderate levels of resistance to imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, dinotefuran, clothianidin, sulfoxaflor, isoprocarb and ethofenprox.

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Understanding the composition of microorganismal communities hosted by insect pests is an important prerequisite for revealing their functions and developing new pest control strategies. Although studies of the structure of the microbiome of Nilaparvata lugens have been published, little is known about the dynamic changes in this microbiome across different developmental stages, and an understanding of the core microbiota is still lacking. In this study, we investigated the dynamic changes in bacteria and fungi in different developmental stages of N.

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The interactions between insects and their bacterial symbionts are shaped by a variety of abiotic factors, including temperature. As global temperatures continue to break high records, a great deal of uncertainty surrounds how agriculturally important insect pests and their symbionts may be affected by elevated temperatures, and its implications for future pest management. In this study, we examine the role of bacterial symbionts in the brown planthopper Nilaparvata lugens response to insecticide (imidacloprid) under different temperature scenarios.

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Background: Nilaparvata lugens, a destructive rice pest in Asia, has developed resistance to many insecticides, including the neonicotinoid clothianidin. CYP6ER1 plays an important role in N. lugens resistant to clothianidin, but only limited information on the transcriptional regulation of CYP6ER1 overexpression in clothianidin resistance is available.

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Background: Uridine diphosphate-glycosyltransferases (UGTs) are phase II metabolic enzymes involved in metabolism of toxins and resistance to insecticides in insect pests. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) induced by xenobiotics are important for activation of detoxification pathways. However, relationships between ROS and UGTs involved in toxin metabolism and insecticide resistance remain unclear.

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The brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens, is one of the main insect pests of rice. The N. lugens gene NlCYP4CE1 encodes cytochrome P450 monooxygenase (P450), which is a key enzyme in the metabolism of the insecticide imidacloprid.

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Carboxylesterases (CarEs) represent one of the major detoxification enzyme families involved in insecticide resistance. However, the function of specific CarE genes in insecticide resistance is still unclear in the insect Nilaparvata lugens (Stål), a notorious rice crop pest in Asia. In this study, a total of 29 putative CarE genes in N.

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The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter superfamily is one of the largest groups of proteins and plays a non-negligible role in phase III of the detoxification process, which is highly involved in the response of insects to environmental stress (plant secondary metabolites and insecticides). In the present study, in , we identified 32 ABC transporters, which are grouped into eight subfamilies (ABCA-H) based on phylogenetic analysis. The temporal and spatial expression profiles suggested that the nymphal stages (1st-5th) and adult males showed similarity, which was different from eggs and adult females, and , , , , , , , and were highly expressed in the midgut and Malpighian tubules.

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Multiple genes, whose functions or expression are overlapping, compensate for the loss of one gene. A gene cluster in the mouse genome encodes five seminal vesicle proteins (SVS2, SVS3, SVS4, SVS5, and SVS6). These proteins are produced by male rodents and function in formation of the copulatory plug following mating.

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An optimized strategy for the enhancement of microbially induced calcium precipitation including spore viability ensurance, nutrient selection and O2 supply was developed. Firstly, an optimal yeast extract concentration of 5 g/l in sporulation medium was determined based on viable spore yield and spore viability. Furthermore, the effects of certain influential factors on microbial calcium precipitation process of H4 in the presence of oxygen releasing tablet (ORT) were evaluated.

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The isomers of 3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienal, more commonly known together as citral, are two of the most notable natural compounds in the flavor and fragrance industry. However, both isomers are inherently unstable, limiting their potential use in various applications. To identify molecules in nature that can impart the fresh lemon character of citral while demonstrating stability under acidic and thermal conditions has been a major challenge and goal for the flavor and fragrance industry.

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