Hot breath, quick exit: aphids flee mammalian heat via TRPA1

Bing Wang, Lulu Yang, Jinjin Wei, Tianyu Huang, Bo Zhang, Jonathan Bohbot, Guirong Wang*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Animals have developed scent-triggered avoidance for threat evasion and survival. Here, we found that aphids exhibit a unique heat-guided herbivore-avoidance mechanism. We identified the TRP channel ApisTRPA1 in Acyrthosiphon pisum as a key receptor for sensing rapid temperature increases. Two isoforms of ApisTRPA1, ApisTRPA1-A and ApisTRPA1-B, are both expressed in neurons located in the primary rhinaria, which are essential for acute heat detection. Among them, ApisTRPA1-B exhibits a stronger response to temperature gradients. These findings shed light on aphid physiological adaptations to thermal cues and may inform the development of eco-friendly aphid management strategies.

Original languageEnglish
JournalScience China Life Sciences
DOIs
StateAccepted/In press - 2025

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© Science China Press 2025.

Keywords

  • Acyrthosiphon pisum
  • heat avoidance
  • pre-encounter escape behavior
  • thermal sense
  • thermosensitive neuron
  • transient receptor potential A1

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