Palms (Arecaceae) and Meligethinae (Coleoptera, Nitidulidae): A Long Evolutionary Journey.

Arecaceae (palms) constitute a highly diversified family of monocots, distributed especially in tropical and subtropical areas, including approximately 2600 species and 180 genera. Palms originated by the end of the Early Cretaceous, with most genus-level cladogenetic events occurring from the Eocene and Oligocene onward. Meligethinae (pollen beetles) are a large subfamily of Nitidulidae (Coleoptera), including just under 700 described species, and some 50 genera.

Seed priming with rutin enhances tomato resistance against the whitefly Bemisia tabaci.

Flavonoids are ubiquitously distributed in plants, showing pleiotropic effects in defense against abiotic and biotic stresses. Although it has been shown that seed priming with flavonoids can enhance plant resistance to abiotic stress, little is known about its potential to enhance plant tolerance to biotic stresses, especially for herbivorous insects. Here, we investigated whether treatment of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) seeds with rutin improves plant resistance against the whitefly (Bemisia tabaci).