Many insect species have acquired the ability to redirect plant development to form unique organs called galls, which provide these insects with unique, enhanced food and protection from enemies and the elements. Many galls resemble flowers or fruits, suggesting that elements of reproductive development may be involved. We tested this hypothesis using RNA sequencing to quantify the transcriptional responses of wild grapevine (Vitis riparia) leaves to a galling parasite, phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae). If development of reproductive structures is part of gall formation, we expected to find significantly elevated expression of genes involved in flower and/or fruit development in developing galls as opposed to ungalled leaves. We found that reproductive gene ontology categories were significantly enriched in developing galls, and that expression of many candidate genes involved in floral development were significantly increased, particularly in later gall stages. The patterns of gene expression found in galls suggest that phylloxera exploits vascular cambium to provide meristematic tissue and redirects leaf development towards formation of carpels. The phylloxera leaf gall appears to be phenotypically and transcriptionally similar to the carpel, due to the parasite hijacking underlying genetic machinery in the host plant.

许多昆虫物种已经获得了改变植物发育方向的能力，形成称为虫瘿的独特器官，为这些昆虫提供独特的、增强的食物并保护其免受天敌和自然元素的侵害。许多虫瘿类似于花朵或水果，表明可能涉及生殖发育的因素。我们使用 RNA 测序来验证这一假设，以量化野生葡萄 ( Vitis riparia ) 叶子对瘿寄生虫根瘤蚜 ( Daktulosphaira vitifoliae )的转录反应。如果生殖结构的发育是瘿形成的一部分，我们预计会发现与未瘿的叶子相比，在发育中的瘿中涉及花和/或果实发育的基因的表达显着升高。我们发现，生殖基因本体类别在发育中的虫瘿中显着丰富，并且许多参与花发育的候选基因的表达显着增加，特别是在虫瘿后期。在虫瘿中发现的基因表达模式表明，根瘤蚜利用维管形成层提供分生组织，并将叶子发育转向心皮的形成。由于寄主植物遗传机制中的寄生虫劫持，根瘤蚜叶瘿在表型和转录上与心皮相似。