(Press-News.org) Contact information: Beth Parada
apps@botany.org
American Journal of Botany
Grasshoppers are what they eat
New method to extract plant DNA from grasshopper guts improves understanding of plant-insect interactions
VIDEO:
This is a demonstration of grasshopper dissection detailing the procedure for
isolating the gut and preparing the foregut and combined midgut+hindgut parts
for DNA extraction.
Click here for more information.
Grasshoppers may be small, but the damages they are causing to the U.S. agriculture industry are anything but. Every year, they feed on crops and on rangelands needed for raising livestock, costing landowners millions of dollars. Although they pose a major threat, grasshopper populations play a positive role in cycling nutrients from decomposing plant matter back into the soil. A new method to investigate their feeding patterns could be the key to a better understanding of the impact of grasshoppers on plant communities.
"The main problem with current control methods is the damage done to non-target plant and insect species," says University of Cincinnati researcher Alina Avanesyan, who developed the new protocol while studying grasshopper leaf tissue consumption. "Accurately determining the feeding preferences of grasshoppers can help us to understand the magnitude of plant damage, and consequently, whether or not control of grasshoppers is needed in a given area."
The method recovers high-quality DNA of ingested plant tissue from grasshopper guts. This plant DNA offers valuable information about grasshopper diets because it holds more data than what can be observed by the naked eye. Scientists can use it to compare specific feeding patterns between different grasshopper species and uncover behaviors that might lead to intensive crop damage in certain areas. A detailed description of the dissection and DNA extraction, including a video illustrating the dissection technique, can be viewed in the February issue of Applications in Plant Sciences.
According to Avanesyan, "With this protocol, a researcher can focus on a variety of research questions, such as detecting plant–insect interactions, determining how long the food has been digested, estimating the prevalence of different plants in insect guts, exploring the sequence of multiple plant species consumed, and inferring feeding preferences."
The protocol begins with a basic dissection kit used to isolate the grasshopper guts. A DNA extraction is then performed on the gut components, which results in a combination of grasshopper and plant DNA. Isolating the plant DNA involves a simple polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, which is used to amplify desired regions of genetic material for further research.
A major advantage of this method is that it can be completed in less than three hours and utilizes inexpensive laboratory equipment accessible to researchers with less funding. It also includes a new technique to divide the gut into sections, enabling researchers to track the step-by-step movement of plant matter through each gut compartment.
"We can follow plant food movement during its consumption, record the sequence of food digested (what plant was chosen to consume first) or the time needed for food digestion in each compartment, and ultimately better understand the insect food digestion process," Avanesyan explains. "It opens doors to a completely different research area—insect physiology."
To demonstrate the utility of the protocol, Avanesyan successfully amplified the DNA of a noncoding region of a plant chloroplast gene and performed multiple feeding trials. Results indicated that plant tissue could be detected up to 12 hours after ingestion in nymph M. differentialis and M. bivittatus grasshoppers and adult M. femurrubrum grasshoppers. For adult M. differentialis grasshoppers, which were the largest in size, plant tissue was detected up to 22 hours post-ingestion. This information lets researchers know how to time the dissection with feeding experiments.
Findings from the gut separation technique uncovered interesting details about M. differentialis grasshoppers. They often did not switch between grasses during feeding, but instead consumed different plant species sequentially.
The proposed protocol is an effective, relatively quick, and low-cost method of detecting plant DNA from a grasshopper gut and its different sections. Benefits extend far beyond grasshoppers, as it can be adapted to any insect herbivores of interest. New information obtained from ingested plant DNA could ultimately lead to more targeted and sustainable methods of managing insect populations, making the new gut DNA extraction method a valuable tool for the scientific community.
"It would be great to know whether there is a difference in digestibility between native and exotic plants, which are morphologically and physiologically similar," says Avanesyan, who plans to continue to use the protocol to investigate plant defenses against insect herbivores.
###
Alina Avanesyan. Plant DNA detection from grasshopper guts: A step-by-step protocol, from tissue preparation to obtaining plant DNA sequences. Applications in Plant Sciences 2(2): 1300082. doi:10.3732/apps.1300082.
Applications in Plant Sciences (APPS) is a monthly, peer-reviewed, open access journal focusing on new tools, technologies, and protocols in all areas of the plant sciences. It is published by the Botanical Society of America, a nonprofit membership society with a mission to promote botany, the field of basic science dealing with the study and inquiry into the form, function, development, diversity, reproduction, evolution, and uses of plants and their interactions within the biosphere. APPS is available as part of BioOne's Open Access collection.
For further information, please contact the APPS staff at apps@botany.org.
Grasshoppers are what they eat
New method to extract plant DNA from grasshopper guts improves understanding of plant-insect interactions
2014-02-06
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Heavy metal in the early cosmos
2014-02-06
Ab initio: "From the beginning."
It's a term used in science to describe ...
New study finds early universe 'warmed up' later than previously believed
2014-02-06
A new study from Tel Aviv University reveals that black holes, formed from the first stars in our ...
Whales and human-related activities overlap in African waters
2014-02-06
Scientists with the Wildlife Conservation Society, Oregon State University, Stanford ...
Obesity treatment using stem cells is the topic of 2013's most-visited news release on EurekAlert!
2014-02-06
For the second year in a row, obesity research features prominently in the group of 10 most-visited news releases posted on EurekAlert! ...
Fruit fly microRNA research at Rutgers-Camden offers clues to aging process
2014-02-06
CAMDEN — Diseases like Alzheimer's and Huntington's are often associated with aging, but the biological link between the two is less certain. Researchers at Rutgers University–Camden ...
New evidence shows increase in obesity may be slowing, but not by much
2014-02-06
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — In his 2014 State of the Union address, President Barack Obama referred to an August 2013 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study that showed a ...
Monkeys that eat omega-3 rich diet show more developed brain networks
2014-02-06
PORTLAND, Ore. — Monkeys that ate a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids had brains with highly connected ...
MD Anderson guides intelligent redesign of cancer care delivery model
2014-02-06
HOUSTON – How best to implement key recommendations recently identified ...
Durable end to AIDS will require HIV vaccine development
2014-02-06
WHAT:
Broader global access to lifesaving antiretroviral therapies and wider ...
Stem cells to treat lung disease in preterm infants
2014-02-06
Cincinnati, OH, February 6, 2014 -- Advances in neonatal care for very preterm infants have greatly increased the chances of survival for these fragile infants. However, preterm infants have an increased ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Inability to pay for healthcare reaches record high in U.S.
Science ‘storytelling’ urgently needed amid climate and biodiversity crisis
KAIST Develops Retinal Therapy to Restore Lost Vision
Adipocyte-hepatocyte signaling mechanism uncovered in endoplasmic reticulum stress response
Mammals were adapting from life in the trees to living on the ground before dinosaur-killing asteroid
Low LDL cholesterol levels linked to reduced risk of dementia
Thickening of the eye’s retina associated with greater risk and severity of postoperative delirium in older patients
Almost one in ten people surveyed report having been harmed by the NHS in the last three years
Enhancing light control with complex frequency excitations
New research finds novel drug target for acute myeloid leukemia, bringing hope for cancer patients
New insight into factors associated with a common disease among dogs and humans
Illuminating single atoms for sustainable propylene production
New study finds Rocky Mountain snow contamination
Study examines lactation in critically ill patients
UVA Engineering Dean Jennifer West earns AIMBE’s 2025 Pierre Galletti Award
Doubling down on metasurfaces
New Cedars-Sinai study shows how specialized diet can improve gut disorders
Making moves and hitting the breaks: Owl journeys surprise researchers in western Montana
PKU Scientists simulate the origin and evolution of the North Atlantic Oscillation
ICRAFT breakthrough: Unlocking A20’s dual role in cancer immunotherapy
How VR technology is changing the game for Alzheimer’s disease
A borrowed bacterial gene allowed some marine diatoms to live on a seaweed diet
Balance between two competing nerve proteins deters symptoms of autism in mice
Use of antifungals in agriculture may increase resistance in an infectious yeast
Awareness grows of cancer risk from alcohol consumption, survey finds
The experts that can outsmart optical illusions
Pregnancy may reduce long COVID risk
Scientists uncover novel immune mechanism in wheat tandem kinase
Three University of Virginia Engineering faculty elected as AAAS Fellows
Unintentional drug overdoses take a toll across the U.S. unequally, study finds
[Press-News.org] Grasshoppers are what they eatNew method to extract plant DNA from grasshopper guts improves understanding of plant-insect interactions