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Background: Insect galls are atypical plant tissues induced by the invasion of insects. Compared to the host leaf, gall tissues lose photosynthetic ability, but have higher soluble sugar content. Although the physiological and biochemical regulation of gall tissues have been demonstrated, the mechanism of genetic regulation has only been analyzed in few studies., Results: In this study, the transcriptome of cup-shaped galls and its host leaf were de novo assembled. Cellular functional enrichment and differentially expressed gene groups in the gall tissues were analyzed. The genes associated with primary metabolism, including photosynthesis, cell wall turnover, and sugar degradation, were expressed differently in galls and leaves. The examination of gene expression demonstrated that the genes involved in brassinosteroid synthesis and responses exhibited a remarkable modulation in cup-shaped galls, suggesting a potential role of steroid hormones in regulating gall development., Conclusions: This study revealed the genetic responses, including those involved in source-sink reallocation and phytohormone metabolism, of galls induced by a dipteran insect., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Background: The source and sink relationships between insect-induced galls and host plant leaves are interesting. In this research, we collected cup-like galls induced by Bruggmanniella sp. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on host leaves of Litsea acuminata and assessed them to investigate source-sink relationships between galls and host leaves. We characterized several of their photosynthetic characteristics including chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm), stomatal conductance, and photosynthetic capacity, biochemical components such as total soluble sugar, starches, free amino acids, and soluble proteins. The structural analyses were performed under confocal, light, and scanning electron microscopies., Results: Compared with host leaves, galls exhibited slightly lower chlorophyll fluorescence; however, stomatal conductance and photosynthetic capacity were not detected at all. Galls accumulated higher total soluble sugars and free amino acids but less soluble proteins than host leaves. No stomata was observed on exterior or interior gall surfaces under light or scanning electron microscopy, but their inner surfaces were covered with fungal hyphae. Confocal imagery showed a gradient of chloroplasts distribution between gall outer and inner surfaces., Conclusions: Our results strongly suggest that leaf-derived cecidomyiid galls are a type of chlorophyll-deficient non-leaf green tissue and consists on a novel sink in L. acuminate.

In order to reveal the effects of temperature on the growth and development of Aglossa dimidiata parasitized on Litsea coreana, a laboratory experiment was conducted to study the mean development duration, development rate, and survival rate of A. dimidiata at its different growth stages at 31 degrees C, 28 degrees C, 25 degrees C, 22 degrees C, and 19 degrees C, with the development threshold temperature and effective accumulated temperature for different growth stages calculated. Temperature had significant effects on the developmental duration. Except that the development duration of egg was shortened with increasing temperature, the development durations of larva, pupa, and immature A. dimidiata were the shortest at 25 degrees C, being 249.53 +/- 23.83, 12.94 +/- 1.27, and 273.00 +/- 24.19 days, respectively. There existed significant relationships between the development rates of A. dimidiata at its different growth stages and temperature, with positive linear relationship at egg stage, and quadratic relationship at larva, pupa, and immature stages. Temperature also had significant effects on the survival rate of A. dimidiata. The survival rates of A. dimidiata at its different growth stages were all the highest at 25 degrees C, being 94.0%, 73.8%, 91.3%, and 63.4% for the egg, larva, pupa, and immature A. dimidiata, respectively, followed by at 22 degrees C and 19 degrees C, and the lowest at 31 degrees C. No larva and pupa could survive at 31 degrees C, suggesting that A. dimidiata was not resistant to high temperature. The development threshold temperature for egg, larva, pupa, and immature A. dimidiata was 13.21 degrees C, 17.12 degrees C, 14.76 degrees C, and 16.47 degrees C, and the effective accumulated temperature was 117.94, 870.88, 149.70, and 1442.75 day-degree, respectively. The results coincided with the fact that the A. dimidiata reproduced 2 or 3 generations a year in Xifeng area of Guizhou, Southwest China.