Plant to Insect Horizontal Gene Transfer: Empowering Whiteflies

Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a well-documented evolutionary driving phenomenon in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, but its impact on the plant kingdom has remained elusive. A recent study provides compelling evidences, which support the idea that a plant-derived gene allows for the detoxification of plant defense metabolites in a polyphagous arthropod herbivore. Horizontal gene transfer (HGT) is a well-documented evolutionary driving phenomenon in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, but its impact on the plant kingdom has remained elusive. A recent study provides compelling evidences, which support the idea that a plant-derived gene allows for the detoxification of plant defense metabolites in a polyphagous arthropod herbivore. allows for the specific knockdown of a gene by adding an in vitro synthetized double-stranded RNA to the regular laboratory diet (glucose and yeast extract) of whiteflies. a number of sap-feeding arthropods excrete this carbohydrate-rich secretion that has a number of physio-ecological impacts. the movement of genetic material across the tree of life by other means than those used in the case of parent to offspring genetic inheritance. besides the core energy-producing metabolism, plants synthetize a number of compounds, called specialized metabolites, that regulate their interaction with the environment. Plant specialized metabolites have thus numerous functions, including defense against pest/herbivores, as illustrated in the spotlighted article.