Abstract:
Gall-inducing insects are capable of exerting a high level of control over their hosts’ cellular
machinery to the extent that the plant’s development, metabolism, chemistry, and physiology are
all altered in favour of the insect. Many gallers are devastating pests in global agriculture and the
limited understanding of their relationship with their hosts prevents the development of robust
management strategies. Omics technologies are proving to be important tools in elucidating the
mechanisms involved in the interaction as they facilitate analysis of plant hosts and insect effectors for
which little or no prior knowledge exists. In this review, we examine the mechanisms behind insect
gall development using evidence from omics-level approaches. The secretion of effector proteins
and induced phytohormonal imbalances are highlighted as likely mechanisms involved in gall
development. However, understanding how these components function within the system is far from
complete and a number of questions need to be answered before this information can be used in the
development of strategies to engineer or breed plants with enhanced resistance.
