Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · 29 July 2026 · From issue 13
A crop-eating mite uses 64 copies of one protein to block a plant's chemical defense.
Si-Yu Wei, Xin An et al., An expanded apolipoprotein D family provides spider mites with dual-layer protection against dietary oxidative stress, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
A tiny crop pest called the two-spotted spider mite carries 64 copies of a protective protein, more than any known living thing. Plants make harmful oxygen molecules to hurt cells that feed on them. The mite uses two of these proteins in a two-step defense. One is released into the plant while the mite feeds. The other works inside the mite's gut afterward. Together they block the plant's chemical attack.
The number of protective protein copies the mite carries, the most ever found in one species.
Lab study of one mite species, not yet tested in fields.
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