{"id":3245,"date":"2021-03-29T10:07:51","date_gmt":"2021-03-29T10:07:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/?p=3245"},"modified":"2025-05-08T13:41:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T13:41:26","slug":"first-gene-transfer-from-a-plant-to-an-insect-identified","status":"publish","type":"eventos","link":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/en\/eventos\/identificada-primeira-transferencia-de-genes-de-uma-planta-para-um-inseto\/","title":{"rendered":"First gene transfer from a plant to an insect identified"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Tobacco whitefly uses a stolen gene to avoid the host's defenses. The discovery is highly relevant to pest control.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The first known case of a natural gene transfer from a plant to an insect has been identified by an international team of researchers. The insect is a whitefly and the discovery could pave the way for new pest control strategies, according to a report published in the newspaper <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/d41586-021-00782-w\">Nature<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Scientists have discovered that <em>Bemisia tabaci<\/em> appropriated a gene from a host plant millions of years ago, reveals a <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.cell.2021.02.014\">article published in <em>Cell<\/em><\/a>. The gene allows this pest to neutralize a toxin produced by certain plants to defend themselves against insects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/easb4aajaue.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Weisse-Fliege_Gaucho-Wiki-2.jpg?strip=all&resize=397%2C396\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3246\" width=\"397\" height=\"396\"\/><figcaption>Some whiteflies use plant genes to render toxins harmless. Image: Gaucho\/ Wiki<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This aleirodid, also known as the bean or sweet potato whitefly, although it attacks many other vegetable crops, is a worldwide pest and one of the most destructive we know of. A <em>Bemisia tabaci<\/em> ingests the sugary sap of hundreds of types of plants, excreting a sweet, sticky substance, honeydew, which then serves as a medium for fungi to grow. Whiteflies are also vectors for more than a hundred viruses that are pathogenic to plants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt's a remarkable example of how the study of evolution can underpin new approaches to applications such as crop protection,\u201d says Andrew Gloss, who studies plant-pest interactions at the University of Chicago in the USA. The study suggests that inhibiting the gene identified could make this whitefly vulnerable to the toxin, opening up a new way of combating this pest.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mosca-branca-do-tabaco utiliza um gene roubado para evitar as defesas da hospedeira. A descoberta apresenta-se muito relevante para o controlo de pragas. O primeiro caso conhecido de uma transfer\u00eancia de genes natural de uma planta para um inseto foi identificado por uma equipa internacional de investigadores. O inseto \u00e9 uma mosca-branca e a descoberta pode abrir [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3246,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3245","eventos","type-eventos","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/eventos\/3245","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/eventos"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/eventos"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/eventos\/3245\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15106,"href":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/eventos\/3245\/revisions\/15106"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3246"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3245"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3245"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iplantprotect.pt\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3245"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}