Publications of the Institute

Aneeqa, S.; Verma, K.; Nishu, N.; Hussain, B.; Mathur, V.: Deciphering role of endophytes in plant defences and biotic stress resilience across families. Plant, Cell and Environment (2026)

Aragón, M.; Spyridis, H.; Mostard, P.; Reichelt, M.; Gershenzon, J.; Dicke, M.; Kloth, K. J.: Jasmonic and salicylic acid pathways shape the rhizosphere microbiome, affecting aphid herbivory and soil-mediated insect–plant interactions in a density-dependent manner. Plant and Cell Physiology, pcag048 (2026)

Arumugam, S.; Rihani, K.; Venkateswaran, V.; Shiota, Y.; Thiagarajan, D.; Hansson, B. S.; Knaden, M.; Sachse, S.: Effects of elevated ozone on life history traits, olfactory detection, and behavior in Drosophila. Science of the Total Environment 1036, 181864 (2026)

Baños Quintana, A. P.; Santiago-Padilla, L.; Reichelt, M.; Sun, R.; Kaltenpoth, M.; Gershenzon, J.; Lehenberger, M.: Symbiotic yeasts of a bark beetle transform major tree defenses into beetle protectants. bioRxiv: the preprint server for biology (accepted)

Baños Quintana, A. P.; Simao Pinto de Carvalho, A.; Kaltenpoth, M.: Symbiotic organs in insects: diversity, functional implications, and terminology. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, Series B: Biological Sciences 381 (1953), 20240386 (2026)

Bhat, B.; Jiang, N.-J.; Halitschke, R.; Ulrich, Y.: Nematode infections induce distinct chemical signatures and provoke aggression in ants. Biology Letters 22 (4), 20250716 (2026)

Bhattacharyya, S.; Engl, T.; Kaltenpoth, M.; Ferrarini, M. G.: Regulation of beneficial intracellular symbionts in insects. Current Opinion in Insect Science (accepted)

Boudinot, B. E.; Bock, B. L.; Tröger, D.; Weingardt, M.; Hammel, J. U.; Grabe, V.; Solórzano-Kraemer, M. M.; Jandausch, K.; Oberski, J. T.; Schmuck, T.: Discovery of Goethe’s amber ant: its phylogenetic and evolutionary implications. Scientific Reports 16, 2880 (2026)

Brandes, J.; Halitschke, R.; Fischer, K.; Baldwin, I. T.; Franken, P.: Genetic and environmental regulation of arbuscular mycorrhizal responsiveness in petunia: Implications for breeding and trait selection. Plant Biology 28 (4), pp. 1145 - 1158 (2026)

Burriel-Carranza, B.; Brunetti, A. E.; Skamnelou, M.; Escudero, J.; Estarellas, M.; Tulloch, S.; Riaño, G.; Rivera, X.; Piulachs, M.-D.; Engl, T. et al.; Weiss, B.; Kaltenpoth, M.; Carranza, S.: Glandular biofluorescence in fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra): first evidence and ecological implications. Royal Society Open Science 13 (5), 251991 (2026)

Calderini, O.; Kamileen, M. O.; Nakamura, Y.; Heinicke, S.; Alam, R. M.; Hong, B.; Jiang, Y.; Gutierrez-Vences, A.; Alagna, F.; Paolocci, F. et al.; Valeri, M. C.; Franco, E.; Mousavi, S.; Mariotti, R.; Caputi, L.; O’Connor, S. E.; Rodriguez-Lopez, C. E.: Comparative transcriptomic and co-expression analyses enable the discovery of key enzymes responsible for oleuropein biosynthesis in olive (Olea europaea). Plant Communications 7 (4), 101713 (2026)

Camo, E. B. S.; Macedo-Rego, R. C.; Borg, A. N.; Caulfield, J. C.; Corrêa-Silva, B.; Mithöfer, A.; Favaris, A. P.; Simões Bento, J. M.; Peñaflor, M. F. G. V.: Single and multiple infestation by coccoid pests in coffee shape plant chemical defenses and interactions across trophic levels. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (accepted)

Carr, S. C.; McDonald, A.; Langley, C.; Grabe, V.; Gase, K.; O’Connor, S. E.: Protein-protein interactions modulate a key branch point in monoterpene indole alkaloid biosynthesis. ACS Chemical Biology 21 (1), pp. 8 - 13 (2026)

Carr, S. C.; Wu, S.; Gase, K.; Nakamura, Y.; Kamileen, M. O.; Kunert, M.; Heinicke, S.; Kang, M.; Grabe, V.; Caputi, L. et al.; O’Connor, S. E.: Tuning reductase activity in monoterpene indole alkaloid biosynthesis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 123 (25), e2605425123 (2026)

Chang, L.; Xu, Z.; Deng, P.; Zhang, N.; He, T.; Liu, X.; He, W.; Zheng, A.; Hu, W.; Pan, M. et al.; Li, W.; Halitschke, R.; Li, R.; Fan, M.; Baldwin, I. T.; Zhang, Y.; Li, D.: Complete biosynthesis of nicotine. Cell 189 (9), pp. 2700 - 2713 (2026)

Christensen, S.; Kaltenpoth, M.; Vogel, H.; Vannette, R. L.: Streptomyces anthophorae sp. nov. and Streptomyces nidicola sp. nov., novel actinobacteria isolated from a solitary bee. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 76 (1), 007029 (2026)

Crickmore, N.; Bravo, A.; Heckel, D. G.; Hernández-Martínez, P.; Nielsen-LeRoux, C.; Soberón, M.: How Bacillus thuringiensis kills its insect host. Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 218, 108643 (2026)

Datta, M.; Luck, K.; Wu, S.; Chen, F.; Ulrich, Y.; O’Connor, S. E.; Köllner, T. G.: Independent evolution of geraniol-8-hydroxylase activity involved in iridoid formation in the Argentine ant (Linepithema humile). Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 186, 104441 (2026)

Feng, H.-C.; Tan, C.-L.; Zheng, X.-M.; Yu, X.; Gershenzon, J.; Li, S.-H.; Liu, Y.: Engineering phototrophic cyanobacteria as a robust platform for production of plant-derived bioactive terpenoids. Chemical Engineering Journal 529, 172487 (2026)

Fiori Pereira, C.; Ferrarini, M. G.; Kaltenpoth, M.; Engl, T.: Probing metabolic integration in obligate, intracellular symbioses. Current Opinion in Insect Science 77, 101541 (2026)