An experimentally tractable Arabidopsis-Swede Midge model to explore host reprogramming by gall-inducing insects
- 1Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology
Abstract
Insect-induced galls are striking examples of host reprogramming, yet their causal mechanisms remain poorly understood because few insect gall systems combine experimental tractability with precise control of insect and host developmental state. To address this gap, we establish Arabidopsis thaliana and the gall-inducing Swede Midge (Contarinia nasturtii) as an experimental system for insect gall research. We discovered that the Swede Midge, an invasive pest of Brassica crops, completes its full life cycle on Arabidopsis, and induces characteristic inflorescence galls resembling those on crops. A larval phenotyping pipeline monitors how many larvae are present and how far they have developed, and a larval droplet assay delivers defined numbers of stage-selected larvae directly to host, fixing the insect input and establishing a precise time zero for the interaction. We found that early-stage, but not late-stage, larvae induce galls. A phyllotactic dissection and positional annotation workflow enables comparisons of galled and non-galled floral tissues. We found that galling enlarged floral buds, floral primordia and the inflorescence meristem while delaying floral developmental progression, with accompanying changes in cell size, shape and tissue organisation. These resources combine Arabidopsis genetics with controlled insect manipulation, opening the way to mechanistic dissection of how insects reprogram plant pathways.
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BibTeX
@misc{sen2026experimentally,
title = {{An experimentally tractable Arabidopsis-Swede Midge model to explore host reprogramming by gall-inducing insects}},
author = {Z. B. Sen and Z. Merai and M. Silvestre Vano and B. Rusnak and C. Lopez and P. Guevarra and L. Zaygerman and B. Mori and Y. Ma},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.11.758373},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.11.758373v1},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - An experimentally tractable Arabidopsis-Swede Midge model to explore host reprogramming by gall-inducing insects
AU - Z. B. Sen
AU - Z. Merai
AU - M. Silvestre Vano
AU - B. Rusnak
AU - C. Lopez
AU - P. Guevarra
AU - L. Zaygerman
AU - B. Mori
AU - Y. Ma
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/11
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.11.758373
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.11.758373v1
AB - Insect-induced galls are striking examples of host reprogramming, yet their causal mechanisms remain poorly understood because few insect gall systems combine experimental tractability with precise control of insect and host developmental state. To address this gap, we establish Arabidopsis thaliana and the gall-inducing Swede Midge (Contarinia nasturtii) as an experimental system for insect gall research. We discovered that the Swede Midge, an invasive pest of Brassica crops, completes its full life cycle on Arabidopsis, and induces characteristic inflorescence galls resembling those on crops. A larval phenotyping pipeline monitors how many larvae are present and how far they have developed, and a larval droplet assay delivers defined numbers of stage-selected larvae directly to host, fixing the insect input and establishing a precise time zero for the interaction. We found that early-stage, but not late-stage, larvae induce galls. A phyllotactic dissection and positional annotation workflow enables comparisons of galled and non-galled floral tissues. We found that galling enlarged floral buds, floral primordia and the inflorescence meristem while delaying floral developmental progression, with accompanying changes in cell size, shape and tissue organisation. These resources combine Arabidopsis genetics with controlled insect manipulation, opening the way to mechanistic dissection of how insects reprogram plant pathways.
ER -