ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Plant Sci.
Sec. Plant Symbiotic Interactions
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpls.2025.1646230
Transcriptome and Phytohormone Analysis Reveal Mechanism of Gall Induction by Trichagalma acutissimae Larvae on Oak Leaves
Provisionally accepted
- 1Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
- 2Anyang Institute of Technology, Anyang, China
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Gall formation caused by plant-organism interactions affects plant development and is essential for the life cycle of gall-inducing insects. Plant hormones like auxins and cytokinins, regulate gall development and defense responses. Despite the extensive morphological characterization of galls, the molecular mechanisms underlying gall induction remain largely unresolved. In this study, we quantified hormone concentrations and performed transcriptome analyses to investigate the mechanisms by which folia galls are induced by the cynipid wasp Trichagalma acutissimae on two oak host species, Quercus variabilis and Q. acutissima. Our preliminary results indicate that wasp larvae may synthesize auxins and cytokinins-a conclusion supported by the gall transcriptome data. Downregulation of IAA biosynthesis genes in gall tissues coincides with significantly higher IAA levels in the larvae compared to the leaves and galls.Likewise, the detection of active cytokinins in the larvae indicates their ability to synthesize cytokinins autonomously. Furthermore, we observed significant suppression of jasmonic acid (JA) biosynthesis in the gall tissues, which strongly supports the nutritional hypothesis. We also identified the upregulation of biosynthetic genes involved in carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and lipid metabolism, providing evidence for the 'trophic hypothesis' of gall formation. This integrative exploration of hormonal dynamics and transcriptomic changes offers insights into the mechanisms of gall induction.
Keywords: Trichagalma acutissimae, Gall induction, Transcriptome, phytohormone, Oak
Received: 13 Jun 2025; Accepted: 27 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Yi, Wang, Xue, Wu, Zhang, Li and Li. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Xianfeng Yi, Qufu Normal University, Qufu, China
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