Brochosomes as an antireflective camouflage coating for leafhoppers
In nature, insects face immense predation pressure, where visual cues play a vital role in predators locating them. To counter this threat, insects employ a variety of nano- and microstructures on their cuticular layer to manipulate and interact with light, enhancing antireflective properties and pr...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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eLife Sciences Publications Ltd
2025-05-01
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| Series: | eLife |
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| Online Access: | https://elifesciences.org/articles/99639 |
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| author | Wei Wu Qianzhuo Mao Zhuang-Xin Ye Zhenfeng Liao Hong-Wei Shan Jun-Min Li Chuan-Xi Zhang Jian-Ping Chen |
| author_facet | Wei Wu Qianzhuo Mao Zhuang-Xin Ye Zhenfeng Liao Hong-Wei Shan Jun-Min Li Chuan-Xi Zhang Jian-Ping Chen |
| author_sort | Wei Wu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In nature, insects face immense predation pressure, where visual cues play a vital role in predators locating them. To counter this threat, insects employ a variety of nano- and microstructures on their cuticular layer to manipulate and interact with light, enhancing antireflective properties and providing camouflage or reducing detectability by predators. Leafhoppers have a unique extracuticular coating called brochosome, yet its antireflective functions and protein composition remain unclear. Our study demonstrates strong antireflective properties of brochosomes, effectively reducing reflectance on the cuticle surface, especially in the ultraviolet spectrum, to improve evasion from visual predators. Furthermore, we identify four novel structural proteins of the brochosome (BSM) for the first time. Inhibiting their synthesis by RNAi alters brochosome morphology, impacting the optical properties of the cuticle surface. Evolutionary origin analysis of BSM suggests that brochosomes likely originated from a process involving duplication–divergence. Our study reveals that leafhoppers employ a unique camouflage strategy by secreting brochosomes as antireflection nanocoatings, enabling them to evade natural predators and contributing to their evolutionary success. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-895dbfa5765c43dd85fe4abc3dcc8f68 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2050-084X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | eLife Sciences Publications Ltd |
| record_format | Article |
| series | eLife |
| spelling | doaj-art-895dbfa5765c43dd85fe4abc3dcc8f682025-08-20T02:38:18ZengeLife Sciences Publications LtdeLife2050-084X2025-05-011310.7554/eLife.99639Brochosomes as an antireflective camouflage coating for leafhoppersWei Wu0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5440-345XQianzhuo Mao1Zhuang-Xin Ye2Zhenfeng Liao3Hong-Wei Shan4Jun-Min Li5Chuan-Xi Zhang6Jian-Ping Chen7State Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Safety, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of MARA, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Green Plant Protection, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Safety, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of MARA, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Green Plant Protection, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Safety, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of MARA, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Green Plant Protection, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, ChinaState Key Laboratory for Sustainable Control of Pest and Disease, Institute of Virology and Biotechnology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Safety, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of MARA, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Green Plant Protection, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Safety, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of MARA, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Green Plant Protection, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Safety, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of MARA, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Green Plant Protection, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Agricultural Products Safety, Key Laboratory of Biotechnology in Plant Protection of MARA, Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Green Plant Protection, Institute of Plant Virology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, ChinaIn nature, insects face immense predation pressure, where visual cues play a vital role in predators locating them. To counter this threat, insects employ a variety of nano- and microstructures on their cuticular layer to manipulate and interact with light, enhancing antireflective properties and providing camouflage or reducing detectability by predators. Leafhoppers have a unique extracuticular coating called brochosome, yet its antireflective functions and protein composition remain unclear. Our study demonstrates strong antireflective properties of brochosomes, effectively reducing reflectance on the cuticle surface, especially in the ultraviolet spectrum, to improve evasion from visual predators. Furthermore, we identify four novel structural proteins of the brochosome (BSM) for the first time. Inhibiting their synthesis by RNAi alters brochosome morphology, impacting the optical properties of the cuticle surface. Evolutionary origin analysis of BSM suggests that brochosomes likely originated from a process involving duplication–divergence. Our study reveals that leafhoppers employ a unique camouflage strategy by secreting brochosomes as antireflection nanocoatings, enabling them to evade natural predators and contributing to their evolutionary success.https://elifesciences.org/articles/99639brochosomeleafhoppercamouflage |
| spellingShingle | Wei Wu Qianzhuo Mao Zhuang-Xin Ye Zhenfeng Liao Hong-Wei Shan Jun-Min Li Chuan-Xi Zhang Jian-Ping Chen Brochosomes as an antireflective camouflage coating for leafhoppers eLife brochosome leafhopper camouflage |
| title | Brochosomes as an antireflective camouflage coating for leafhoppers |
| title_full | Brochosomes as an antireflective camouflage coating for leafhoppers |
| title_fullStr | Brochosomes as an antireflective camouflage coating for leafhoppers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Brochosomes as an antireflective camouflage coating for leafhoppers |
| title_short | Brochosomes as an antireflective camouflage coating for leafhoppers |
| title_sort | brochosomes as an antireflective camouflage coating for leafhoppers |
| topic | brochosome leafhopper camouflage |
| url | https://elifesciences.org/articles/99639 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT weiwu brochosomesasanantireflectivecamouflagecoatingforleafhoppers AT qianzhuomao brochosomesasanantireflectivecamouflagecoatingforleafhoppers AT zhuangxinye brochosomesasanantireflectivecamouflagecoatingforleafhoppers AT zhenfengliao brochosomesasanantireflectivecamouflagecoatingforleafhoppers AT hongweishan brochosomesasanantireflectivecamouflagecoatingforleafhoppers AT junminli brochosomesasanantireflectivecamouflagecoatingforleafhoppers AT chuanxizhang brochosomesasanantireflectivecamouflagecoatingforleafhoppers AT jianpingchen brochosomesasanantireflectivecamouflagecoatingforleafhoppers |