The main objective of this study was to investigate Artemisia annua plant property variations in terms of plant biomass, glandular trichome numbers, artemisinin production and Guaiacol peroxidase (GPOX) activity when plants are in mutualism with AMF. According to the results, A. annua mutualism with AMF significantly increased the most important and pharmaceutically relevant factors of fresh and dry plant biomass. This increase, especially in the biomass of plant herba (leaves), was 30% higher during the vegetation period and remained high (29% higher than for control) when plants were harvested at the end of the vegetation period. Similar differences in dry biomass were also detected. Glandular trichomas numbers increased by 40%, and the artemisinin content by 17% under AMF colonization. No effects due to AMF on chlorophyll variations were detected, while GPOX enzyme concentrations increased significantly under AMF colonization. Altogether the Artemisia plant properties with high pharmaceutically importance (fresh and dry biomass of leaves and artemisinin, number of trichomes and the artemisinin content) were significantly improved by AMF, the application in Artemisia cultivation can be an effective and cheap method. The high GPOX activity under AMF colonization indicate an enhanced oxidative stress alleviation, therefore a higher resistance to water deficiency, mechanisms important under climate conditions with low water supply where Artemisia is usually cultivated.

Aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) are small, phloem-feeding insects that exhibit remarkable adaptability and resilience to various environmental conditions, including heat stress. Recent research has shed light on the role of bacterial symbionts in influencing the heat tolerance of aphids. Additionally, an intriguing avenue of investigation has explored how aphids can acquire bacterial symbionts through a unique mechanism involving soil nematodes. In this paper, we provide an in-depth overview of the interplay between heat stress, bacterial symbionts, and soil nematodes in the context of aphid biology. In reviewing the existing literature and collating available knowledge, we highlight the mechanisms by which bacterial symbionts contribute to aphid heat stress tolerance and examine the symbiont acquisition process facilitated by soil nematodes. Furthermore, we discuss the implications of these symbiotic associations in relation to the ecology, evolution, and agricultural management of a major globally expanding pest aphid, the corn leaf aphid, Rhopalosiphum maidis (Fitch). Overall, it may be concluded that both primary and secondary bacterial endosymbionts play a significant role in aphid biology with evolutionary consequences. These include adaptations through bacterial symbionts in terms of longevity and fecundity, heat shock tolerance, and resistance to fungal pathogens and primary hymenopterous wasp parasitoids.

There is concern that genetically modified (GM) plants may have adverse affects on the arthropod biodiversity comprising agricultural landscapes. The present study report on a two year field experimental test of whether four different genotypic lines, some are novel with no previous field tests, of GM maize hybrids alter the structure of arthropod food webs that they harbour, relative to non-GM maize (control) that is widely used in agriculture. The different GM genotypes produced either Bt toxins, conferred glyphosate tolerance or a combination of the two traits. Quantitative food web analysis, based on short-term assessment assigning a total of 243,896 arthropod individuals collected from the treatments to their positions in food webs, revealed that complex and stable food webs persisted in each maize treatment. Moreover, food web structure remained relatively unchanged by the GM-genotype. The results suggest that at least in short-term period these particular GM maize genotypes will not have adverse effects on arthropod biota of agricultural landscapes.

Field assessments and genetic analyses on tansy aphid, Metopeurum fuscoviride Stroyan were made aiming to investigate whether a specialist aphid speci