Host specialization is a ubiquitous character of phytophagous insects. The polyphagous population is usually composed of some subpopulations that can use only a few closely related plants. Cotton-melon aphids, Aphis gossypii Glover exhibited strong host specialization, and the cotton- and cucurbits-specialized biotypes had been clearly identified. However, the experimental work that addressed the roles of plant species in determining diet breadth of phytophagous insects is rare. In the present study, we took the artificial host transfer method to assess the role of two special plants, zucchini Cucurbita zucchini L. and cowpea Vigna unguiculata (Linn.) Walp, in regulating diet breadth of cotton- and cucurbits-specialized A. gossypii collected from cotton and cucumber fields and reared separately on the native host plant for ten years. The results showed that the cotton-specialized aphids did not directly use cucumber whereas the cucurbits-specialized did not use cotton regardless of the coexistence or separation of cotton and cucumber plants. Neither of the cotton- and cucurbits-specialized aphids could use capsicum Capsicum annuum, eggplant Solanum melongenahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolus_Linnaeus, tomato Solanum lycopersicum, maize Zea mayshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Linnaeus, and radish Raphanus sativus, however, both of them could use zucchini and cowpea. Moreover, the feeding experience on zucchini led the cotton-specialized aphids to use cucumber well and finally to be transformed into the cucurbits-specialized biotype. The short-term feeding experience on cowpea resulted in the diet breadth expansion of the cucurbits-specialized aphids to use cotton. On the other hand, the diet breadth expansion of the cucurbits- and cotton-specialized aphids was only realized by different species of plant. It concluded that the special host plant did induce the conversion of feeding habits in the cotton- and cucurbits-specialized aphids, and consequently broke the host specialization. The plant species is an underlying factor to determine the diet breadth of phytophagous insects.

An attractive, versatile, and operationally simple, visible-light-induced, transition-metal-free, photocatalyst-free, and oxidant-free trifluoromethylation has been demonstrated. Triflic anhydride (Tf 2 O), being inexpensive and readily available, was chosen as the radical trifluoromethyl source. Thianthrene was used as a recyclable Tf 2 O-activating reagent, and a high-yielding and scalable trifluoromethylation reaction was achieved. Density functional theory and mechanistic studies showed that a free radical homolytic process excited by visible light is involved in this reaction, generating a key trifluoromethyl radical intermediate.

An electron donor−acceptor complex-initiated αcyanation of tertiary amines has been described. The reaction protocol provides a novel method to synthesize various α-amino nitriles under mild conditions. The reaction can proceed smoothly without the presence of photocatalysts and transition metal catalysts, and either oxidants are unnecessary or O 2 is the only oxidant. The practicality of this method is showcased not only by the late-stage functionalization of natural alkaloid derivatives and pharmaceutical intermediate, but also by the applicability of a stop−flow microtubing reactor.

This work reports an efficient sulfonylation enabled by visible-light-induced radical coupling reaction between phenyl/heterocyclic diazonium salts and sulfinates. Mechanistic experiments disclosed the formation of a versatile electron donor–acceptor (EDA) complex....

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