AgronomyEN

We study how crop plants resist insect herbivores and how these resistance mechanisms can be applied to sustainable pest management.

Our research integrates molecular, physiological, ecological, and evolutionary approaches to understand host-plant resistance, including antixenosis and antibiosis. Using major agricultural pest systems such as the brown planthopper in rice and the fall armyworm in maize, we aim to bridge fundamental plant defense biology with practical applications in agriculture.

Education

• 2006 – 2012 | Ph.D. in Agronomy

  • Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University

  • University Park, PA, USA

• 1998 – 2002 | B.S. in Agronomy

  • Department of Agronomy, National Taiwan University

  • Taipei, Taiwan

Professional Experience

• 2024 – Present | Professor

  • Department of Agronomy, National Taiwan University

  • Joint Appointment: Master Program for Plant Medicine, NTU

  • Joint Appointment: Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, NTU (Effective 2026)

• 2020 – 2024 | Associate Professor

  • Department of Agronomy, National Taiwan University

  • Joint Appointment: Master Program for Plant Medicine, NTU

• 2014 – 2020 | Assistant Professor

  • Department of Agronomy, National Taiwan University

• 2012 – 2014 | Postdoctoral Research Associate

  • Department of Entomology, Kansas State University, USA

 Peer-Reviewed Articles:

1. Chuang, W.-P., S. Ray, F. E. Acevedo, M. Peiffer, G. W. Felton, and D. S. Luthe. 2014. Herbivore cues from the fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) larvae trigger direct defenses in maize. Molecular Plant–Microbe Interactions 27: 461–470.
2. Chuang, W.-P., M. Herde, S. Ray, L. Castano-Duque, G. A. Howe, and D. S. Luthe. 2014. Caterpillar attack triggers accumulation of the toxic maize protein RIP2. New Phytologist 201: 928–939.
3. Smith, C. M., and W.-P. Chuang. 2014. Plant resistance to aphid feeding: Behavioral, physiological, genetic and molecular cues regulate aphid host selection and feeding. Pest Management Science 70: 528–540.
4. Ray, S., I. Gaffor, F. E. Acevedo, A. Helms, W.-P. Chuang, J. Tooker, G. W. Felton, and D. S. Luthe. 2015. Maize plants recognize herbivore-associated cues from caterpillar frass. Journal of Chemical Ecology 41: 781–792.
5. Carver, B. F., C. M. Smith, W.-P. Chuang, R. M. Hunger, J. T. Edwards, L. Yan, G. Brown-Guedira, B. S. Gill, G. Bai, and R. L. Bowden. 2016. Registration of OK05312, a high-yielding hard winter wheat donor of Cmc4 for wheat curl mite resistance. Journal of Plant Registrations 10: 75–79.
6. Aguirre-Rojas, L. M., L. K. Khalaf, S. Garcés-Carrera, D. K. Sinha, W.-P. Chuang, and C. M. Smith. 2017. Resistance to wheat curl mite in arthropod-resistant rye–wheat translocation lines. Agronomy 7: 74.
7. Chuang, W.-P., L. M. Aguirre-Rojas, L. K. Khalaf, G. Zhang, A. K. Fritz, A. E. Whitfield, and C. M. Smith. 2017. Wheat genotypes with combined resistance to wheat curl mite, wheat streak mosaic virus, wheat mosaic virus, and Triticum mosaic virus. Journal of Economic Entomology 110: 711–718.
8. Lin, H.-H., and W.-P. Chuang. 2017. Push–pull farming system (Review). Weed Science Bulletin 38: 77–88. (in Chinese)
9. Li, C., A. Y. Wong, S. Wang, Q. Jia, W.-P. Chuang, W. G. Bendena, S. S. Tobe, S. H. Yang, G. Chung, and T. F. Chan. 2018. miRNA-mediated interactions in and between plants and insects. International Journal of Molecular Sciences 19: 3239.
10. Tu, K.-Y., S. F. Tsai, T. W. Guo, H.-H. Lin, Z.-W. Yang, C.-T. Liao, and W.-P. Chuang. 2018. The role of plant abiotic factors on the interactions between Cnaphalocrocis medinalis and its host plant. Environmental Entomology 47: 857–866.
11. Zhao, J., N. R. Abdelsalam, L. Khalaf, W.-P. Chuang, L. Zhao, C. M. Smith, B. Carver, and G. Bai. 2019. Development of SNP markers for the wheat curl mite resistance gene Cmc4. Crop Science 59: 1567–1575.
12. Khalaf, L., W.-P. Chuang, L. Aguirre-Rojas, P. Klein, and C. M. Smith. 2019. Differences in Aceria tosichella population responses to wheat resistance genes and virus transmission. Arthropod–Plant Interactions 13: 807–818.
13. Li, Y., Y.-F. Huang, S.-H. Huang, Y.-H. Kuang, C.-W. Tung, C.-T. Liao, and W.-P. Chuang. 2019. Genomic and phenotypic evaluation of rice susceptible check TN1 collected in Taiwan. Botanical Studies 60: 1–7.
14. Guo, T.-W., C.-T. Liao, and W.-P. Chuang. 2019. Defensive responses of rice cultivars resistant to Cnaphalocrocis medinalis. Arthropod–Plant Interactions 13: 611–620.
15. Lin, S.-C., Y.-H. Kuang, Y. Li, M.-Y. Chiang, C.-H. Hsieh, and W.-P. Chuang. 2019. Evaluating the growth of fall armyworm larvae feeding on four weed species. Weed Science Bulletin 40: 91–98. (in Chinese)
16. Khalaf, L., A. Timm, W.-P. Chuang, L. Enders, T. J. Hefley, and C. M. Smith. 2020. Modeling Aceria tosichella biotype distribution over geographic space and time. PLoS ONE 15: e0233507.
17. Cheah, B. H., H.-H. Lin, H.-J. Chien, C.-T. Liao, L.-Y. D. Liu, C.-C. Lai, Y.-F. Lin, and W.-P. Chuang. 2020. SWATH-MS-based quantitative proteomics reveals an intricate defense response in Cnaphalocrocis medinalis-resistant rice. Scientific Reports 10: 6597.
18. Lin, P.-A., C. M. Liu, J. A. Ou, C.-H. Sun, W.-P. Chuang, C.-K. Ho, N. Kinoshita, and G. W. Felton. 2021. Changes in arthropod community but not plant quality benefit a specialist herbivore under reduced water availability. Oecologia 195: 383–396.
19. Li, Y., B. H. Cheah, Y.-F. Fang, Y.-H. Kuang, S.-C. Lin, C.-T. Liao, S.-H. Huang, Y.-F. Lin, and W.-P. Chuang. 2021. Transcriptomics identifies key defense mechanisms in rice resistant to leaf- and phloem-feeding herbivores. BMC Plant Biology 21: 306.
20. Kuang, Y.-H., Y.-F. Fang, S.-C. Lin, S. F. Tsai, Z.-W. Yang, C.-P. Li, S.-H. Huang, S. L. Hechanova, K. K. Jena, and W.-P. Chuang. 2021. Climate change impacts resistance of rice near-isogenic lines to brown planthopper. Rice 14: 64.
21. Sotelo-Cardona, P., W.-P. Chuang, M.-Y. Lin, M.-Y. Chiang, and S. Ramasamy. 2021. Oviposition preference does not necessarily predict offspring performance in fall armyworm. Scientific Reports 11: 15885.
22. Cheah, B. H., W.-P. Chuang, J.-C. Lo, Y. Li, C.-Y. Cheng, Z.-W. Yang, C.-T. Liao, and Y.-F. Lin. 2022. Exogenous copper application induces elemental defense in rice against rice leaffolder. Plants 11: 1104.
23. Lin, S.-C., Y. Li, F.-Y. Hu, C.-L. Wang, Y.-H. Kuang, C.-L. Sung, S. F. Tsai, Z.-W. Yang, C.-P. Li, S.-H. Huang, C.-T. Liao, S. L. Hechanova, K. K. Jena, and W.-P. Chuang. 2022. Nitrogen fertilizer alters resistance of rice NILs with brown planthopper resistance genes. Botanical Studies 63: 16.
24. Sung, C.-L., F.-Y. Hu, Y. Li, S. F. Tsai, and W.-P. Chuang. 2023. Antiherbivore effects of Cuscuta campestris against Spodoptera frugiperda. Arthropod–Plant Interactions 17: 123–131.
25. Lin, P.-A., J. Kansman, W.-P. Chuang, C. Robert, M. Erb, and G. W. Felton. 2023. Water availability and plant–herbivore interactions. Journal of Experimental Botany 74: 2811–2828.
26. Chen, Y.-J., B. H. Cheah, C.-Y. Lin, Y.-T. Ku, C.-H. Kuo, Y.-Y. Zhang, B.-R. Chen, O. Nean, C.-H. Hsieh, P.-M. Yeh, F. K. S. Yeo, Y.-P. Lin, W.-P. Chuang, C.-R. Lee, and H.-M. Ting. 2023. Inducible chemical defenses in wild mungbean confer resistance to Spodoptera litura. Environmental and Experimental Botany 205: 105100.
27. Hsieh, C.-H., T. W. Guo, K.-Y. Tu, C.-T. Liao, and W.-P. Chuang. 2023. Genetic structure of the rice leaffolder in Taiwan. Taiwania 68(4): 451–457.
28. Wang, C.-L., P.-Q. Luo, F.-Y. Hu, Y. Li, C.-L. Sung, Y.-H. Kuang, S.-C. Lin, Z.-W. Yang, C.-P. Li, S.-H. Huang, S. L. Hechanova, K. K. Jena, C.-H. Hsieh, and W.-P. Chuang. 2024. Pyramiding brown planthopper resistance genes maintains resistance under climate change. Pest Management Science 80: 1740–1750.
29. Tsai, Y.-C., P.-Q. Luo, C.-L. Sung, Y. Li, F.-Y. Hu, C.-L. Wang, Y.-N. Chen, J.-H. Hsu, C.-E. Liao, S.-R. Chang, and W.-P. Chuang. 2024. Evaluating local plant species for fall armyworm management in Taiwan. Botanical Studies 65: 18.
30. Sun, S.-J., X.-Y. Lee, Y.-J. Wang, W.-P. Chuang, S.-Y. Hwang, and C.-K. Ho. 2025. Interactions among warming, elevated CO₂, and trophic dynamics shape crop performance and pest control. Scientific Reports 15: 39519.
31. Lee, S.-K., B.-R. Chen, C.-Y. Lin, C.-H. Kuo, Y.-J. Chen, Y.-P. Lin, Y.-Y. Zhang, R. H. Tisdale, C.-R. Lee, W.-P. Chuang, and H.-M. Ting. 2025. Induction of plant defenses and production of kaempferol-7-O-glucoside in resistant wild mungbean. Plant, Cell & Environment. doi:10.1111/pce.70248.

Other Publications:

Chuang, W.P. 2019. The Fantastic Journey of the Fall Armyworm - Taiwan, Are You Ready? Science Monthly 596 (in Chinese)

2025 Academic Award, Weed Science Society of the Republic of China (Taiwan)

2023 SHANG-FA YANG Outstanding Young Scientist Award

2023 Outstanding Young Scholar, Taiwan Society of Plant Biologists

2023 Outstanding Teaching Faculty Member, National Taiwan University, Taiwan