Neuro-ethology of insect-plant interactions
We investigate the evolution of sensory mechanisms that allow insect herbivores to identify their host-plant, by evaluating both attractive and deterrend stimuli.
“How do herbivorous insects find the right host plant?”
Insect and plants are entangled in a coevolutionary arms-race; with plants evolving novel chemical defences, and insect herbivores adapting their detoxification machinery and to specialize on certain host plants. Insect herbivores use their chemical senses (taste and smell) to detect feeding or egg laying stimuli, and to recognise toxins and other harmful compounds. Identifying how deterrent compounds are perceived by insects is not only crucial for understanding host-plant choice, but these compounds also have a great potential to be used in environmentally friendly crop protection strategies.
Topics
• Evolution of host-choice behaviour in insect herbivores.
• How herbivores assess their host-plants
• Insect herbivores that select toxic compounds for their own defence
• How plants attract pollinators but hide from herbivores
Projects
The taste of diversity: How the evolution of taste has shaped the emergence of specialist insect-plant relationships
The taste of diversity: How the evolution of taste has shaped the emergence of specialist insect-plant relationships
The taste of diversity: How the evolution of taste has shaped the emergence of specialist insect-plant relationships
The taste of diversity: How the evolution of taste has shaped the emergence of specialist insect-plant relationships
How butterflies acquired a taste for cabbage: Unravelling the role of tarsal taste receptors in the co-evolution of Pierid butterflies and their Brassicales host plants
How butterflies acquired a taste for cabbage: Unravelling the role of tarsal taste receptors in the co-evolution of Pierid butterflies and their Brassicales host plants
Leveraging nature's potential for sustainable crop protection: A novel approach for uncovering protective functions of plant secondary metabolites based on insect receptors
The insect-plant arms-race produced a variety of valuable molecules, with many potentially applicable as alternatives to pesticides. A novel screening tool, LC-MS-ReceptomiX, might offer support to research and industry to unlock this opportunity. To showcase this, we will investigate the interaction between Erysimum spp. and cabbage specialists like Pieris butterflies. Erysimum spp. developed cardenolides, a new class of deterrents against Pieris spp. acting via a taste-mediated mechanism. Through LC-MS-ReceptomiX, we will identify both the specific deterrent compounds in the plant compounds and the insect taste receptors detecting them. These results will contribute to the development of safe biodeterrents.
Sweet or sour - how the nectar microbiome shapes the pollinator community in brassicaceous plants
Pollination by insects is rewarded with floral nectar. However, as a nutrient-rich and well-protected environment, flower nectar also supports a diverse community of beneficial, commensal, and antagonistic microbes. These microorganisms influence the interaction between the plant and its pollinators, but also with nectar robbers and flower-feeding herbivores by altering the nutritional value and the chemical composition of the nectar. Despite the importance of pollination for seed production of many brassicaceous crops, little is known on the role of the nectar microbiome for plant fitness and seed set in these plants. Besides plant fitness, nectar microbes also impact pollinator health and thereby strongly influence the pollinator community beyond individual plant-pollinator interactions. The central questions of this PhD project are (I) does the microbiome in the flower nectar influences plant-pollinator interactions and plant fitness? (II) can specific microbes be used to improve seed set in brassicaceous crops as well as pollinator health?
A neuronal arms race: the role of learning in parasitoid-host interactions
A neuronal arms race: the role of learning in parasitoid-host interactions
A diverse team of researchers works on insect-plant interactions
Research themes
Entomology
Entomology, led by Bregje Wertheim, works on the physiology of insect-plant interactions and the ecology of parasite-host and predator-prey interactions.