RNAi Based Functional Analysis of Biosynthetic Enzymes and Transport Proteins Involved in the Chemical Defense of Juvenile Leaf Beetles

Plant-herbivore interactions dominate the planet’s terrestrial ecology. Phytophagous insects account for more than double of the nonherbivorous taxa. This disparity became especially pronounced with the increasing diversity of angiosperms in the post-Cretaceous period. In response to herbivores, plants developed several morphological and biochemical adaptations which allowed them to wage a kind of chemical warfare; one strategy of this war was based on toxic secondary metabolite production, storage and eventually release (Macias et al. 2007). As some insects became adapted to these metabolites, interactions between the

Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Department of Bioorganic Chemistry, Beutenberg Campus, Hans-Knoell-Str. 8, D-07745 Jena, Germany.