About this Research Topic
Many insects and other arthropods can perceive seasonal changes, such as photoperiod and temperature, to enter diapause, a developmental arrest. Diapause is a vital strategy allowing animals to survive adverse conditions, e.g., cold, high temperature, and food shortage. Individuals undergoing diapause generally accumulate huge fat reserves and exhibit depressed metabolism, high resistance to stresses, and a long lifespan. These physiological traits enable people to study obesity, metabolic regulation, and ageing using diapause as a model. On the other hand, to improve pest management and application of natural enemy insects, people have investigated the regulatory mechanisms of diapause in economically important insects and disease vectors. They have demonstrated that endocrine systems are responsible for transducing environmental inputs to diapause outputs. Hence, dissecting the endocrine mechanisms is a crucial step for understanding diapause regulation.
During the last decades, the principal hormone signals involved in diapause regulation have been revealed. However, how these endocrine signals respond to environmental cues remains largely unknown. The intermediate factors that connect environmental changes to endocrine responses are being under-explored. Moreover, what signal pathways triggered by hormones mediate diapause traits are still unclear. Therefore, in this research topic, we expect the above questions can be investigated and discussed in different types of diapause and various insects. We believe that addressing these questions will help us better understand the regulatory mechanisms of diapause and the phenotypically plastic mechanisms of animal development.
This Research Topic aims to bring together a collection of original research articles, reviews, and mini-reviews focusing on the endocrine regulation of diapause in insects and other groups of arthropods. We welcome the submission covering, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:
• Neuroendocrine regulation of diapause
• The hormonal signal pathways regulating diapause
• Hormonal regulation of diapause physiology and behavior
• Diapause manipulation by insect growth regulators and the relevant chemicals
During the last decades, the principal hormone signals involved in diapause regulation have been revealed. However, how these endocrine signals respond to environmental cues remains largely unknown. The intermediate factors that connect environmental changes to endocrine responses are being under-explored. Moreover, what signal pathways triggered by hormones mediate diapause traits are still unclear. Therefore, in this research topic, we expect the above questions can be investigated and discussed in different types of diapause and various insects. We believe that addressing these questions will help us better understand the regulatory mechanisms of diapause and the phenotypically plastic mechanisms of animal development.
This Research Topic aims to bring together a collection of original research articles, reviews, and mini-reviews focusing on the endocrine regulation of diapause in insects and other groups of arthropods. We welcome the submission covering, but not limited to, the following sub-topics:
• Neuroendocrine regulation of diapause
• The hormonal signal pathways regulating diapause
• Hormonal regulation of diapause physiology and behavior
• Diapause manipulation by insect growth regulators and the relevant chemicals
Keywords: diapause, hormone, phenotypic plasticity, photoperiod, physiology, temperature
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
