Work

Biochemical and metabolic responses of cotton variety XLZ54 to Thrips tabaci and screening of resistance characterization indicators

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: BACKGROUND: Thrips tabaci is an important cotton pest. Cultivating insect-resistant varieties is a fundamental approach to reducing their occurrence and associated damage. This study investigated and compared the field occurrence of T. tabaci on three cotton varieties, including XLZ54, evaluated their resistance under a controlled indoor environment, and explored their biochemical and metabolic response mechanism. RESULTS: The results indicated that the occurrence of T. tabaci on XLZ54 was least in the field environment (P < 0.05), and the number of wounds on XLZ54 was least when the pest population was the same indoors (16.00-65.67 wounds). Among the different cotton varieties, XLZ54 had the lowest nutrients content: soluble sugar (SS, 2.10-5.08 mg/g), soluble protein (SP, 1.17-1.79 mg/g) free amino acids (FAA, 2343.50-3236.20 mg/g), and proline (Pro, 22.59-33.29 mg/g). With the increase in the pest population, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase, catalase, and polyphenol oxidase (PPO) still maintain high activity, and the amounts of flavonoids, total phenols, gossypol, and tannins, increased significantly. Principal component analysis identified that degree of damage, PPO, SOD, SS, FAAs, SP, and flavonoids were essential factors in evaluating resistance to T. tabaci. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that XLZ54 has the highest resistance to T. tabaci, and this is closely related to its low nutrient content and its high amounts of insect-resistant substances such as flavonoids, total phenols, gossypol, and tannins after damage. In addition, the seven indicators mentioned above can serve as characterization indices for evaluating the resistance of cotton to T. tabaci, providing a basis for future breeding of cotton varieties resistant to T. tabaci. © 2025 The Author(s). Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Source: Pest Management Science

DOI: 10.1002/ps.70310

Authors: Xiaohu Guo, Zongfang Fan, Jiongran Zhang, Hongyan Zhang, Deying Ma

Institution: Xinjiang Agricultural University

Language: English

Topic: Insect-Plant Interactions and Control

Subfield: Insect Science

Field: Agricultural and Biological Sciences

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Zero hunger

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $5,360