Whitefly adults and nymphs impose distinct stresses on plants. Using a tobacco-whitefly model, this study reveals that plants achieve precise, stage-specific defense through modular transcriptional reprogramming. Adult feeding primarily rewires primary metabolism, whereas nymph feeding broadly activates hormone signaling, MAPK cascades, and secondary metabolism. Co-expression network analysis shows that upregulation of the cyan-greenyellow module mediates direct defense, while suppression of the darkturquoise-midnightblue module reflects a growth-defense trade-off. The AP2/EREBP transcription factor family is identified as a central regulator, together with BBR-BPC, MIKCMADS, and TALE families, forming a multi-layered regulatory network. qRT-PCR validation confirmed significant induction of nine defense-related genes. This work provides new insights into plant-insect interactions and offers candidate targets for breeding insect-resistant crops. • Tobacco employs modular transcriptional reprogramming to mount stage-specific defenses against whitefly adults and nymphs. • Nymph feeding activates broad defense pathways including hormones, MAPK signaling, and secondary metabolism. • Co-expression network analysis reveals that the cyan–greenyellow module mediates direct defense, and suppression of the darkturquoise–midnightblue module reflects a growth–defense trade-off. • The AP2/EREBP transcription factor family is identified as a central regulator, with evolutionary signatures of functional innovation. • Together with BBR-BPC, MIKCMADS, and TALE families, AP2/EREBP forms a multi-layered transcriptional network fine-tuning stage-specific resistance.
Li et al. (Sun,) studied this question.