Conclusions
The proposed protocol is an effective, relatively quick, and low-cost method of detecting plant DNA from the grasshopper gut and its different sections. This has important applications, from exploring plant "movement" during food consumption, to detecting plant-insect interactions.
Results
The developed protocol successfully used the noncoding region of the chloroplast trnL (UAA) gene and was tested in several feeding experiments. Plant DNA was obtained at seven time points post-ingestion from whole guts and separate gut sections, and was detectable up to 12 h post-ingestion in nymphs and 22 h post-ingestion in adult grasshoppers. • Conclusions: The proposed protocol is an effective, relatively quick, and low-cost method of detecting plant DNA from the grasshopper gut and its different sections. This has important applications, from exploring plant "movement" during food consumption, to detecting plant-insect interactions.