# Sex‐Specific Response to Predator Auditory Cues in Asian Corn Borer (Ostrinia furnacalis)

## TL;DR

Exposure to bat sounds causes sex-specific changes in the Asian corn borer, with males growing larger and females producing fewer eggs.

## Contribution

This study reveals sex-specific physiological and gene expression responses to auditory predation cues in a lepidopteran species.

## Key findings

- Males showed increased body size and ecdysteroid levels under predation risk.
- Females exhibited reduced fecundity and more downregulated genes in response to bat sounds.
- Sex-specific gene regulators were identified for growth and hormone responses to predation risk.

## Abstract

Predation risk has profound effects on prey from phenotype to gene expression. Prey may respond differently to predation risk on the basis of sex, especially those species with obvious sexual size dimorphism. However, whether such responses are sex‐specific still lacks systematic research. In this study, we continuously exposed a female‐larger species Asian corn borer (ACB, Ostrinia furnacalis) to bat foraging ultrasound from the larval stage through adulthood, monitoring phenotypic and gene expression changes in exposed males and females compared to normally reared adults. The results revealed that adults in the ultrasound‐stressed group exhibited significant changes in both phenotypic traits and gene expression profiles, with marked sex‐specific responses to auditory predation cues. Specifically, males demonstrated significant increases in body weight, body length, and ecdysteroid titer, whereas females displayed a marked reduction in fecundity (egg production). Female adults exhibited a predominance of downregulated differentially expressed genes (DEGs), with greater total DEG numbers compared to males. Male adults showed primarily upregulated DEG profiles. Females appear to utilize LOC114365575 and LOC114352210 as key regulators in modulating growth and juvenile hormone levels, whereas males may rely on LOC114349799 and LOC114351933 to regulate growth and electrophysiological response amplitude under predation risk. Our results suggest that sex‐specific responses may be an important component of inter‐individual differences in prey responses to risk and influence prey population growth and demography.

Females downregulate more DEGs; males upregulate under predation risk. Males boost ecdysteroid; females reduce fecundity under bat ultrasound. Female O. furnacalis reacted more strongly to auditory cues of bats than males.