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Thompson MN, Arriaga J, Bradford BJ, Kurian R, Strozier G, Helms AM. Belowground insect herbivory induces systemic volatile emissions that strengthen neighbouring plant resistance aboveground. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2024; 47:714-725. [PMID: 37961782 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2023] [Revised: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
Plants transmit ecologically relevant messages to neighbouring plants through chemical cues. For instance, insect herbivory triggers the production of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs), which can enhance neighbouring plant defences. HIPVs are emitted from directly damaged plant tissues and from systemic, nondamaged tissues. Although volatile-mediated interplant interactions have been observed both above- and belowground, it remains unknown whether belowground herbivory induces systemic HIPVs aboveground that influence neighbouring plants. To explore how belowground herbivory affects interplant interactions aboveground, we characterised systemic HIPVs from squash induced by belowground striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum) larval herbivory. We exposed squash 'receiver plants' to systemic HIPVs or volatiles from nondamaged plants. We then measured herbivore resistance by challenging 'receiver plants' with aboveground-feeding herbivores: adult beetles (A. vittatum) or squash bugs (Anasa tristis). We discovered belowground-damaged plants emitted more (E)-β-ocimene, a key volatile from the systemic HIPV blend, than nondamaged controls, and that exposure to systemic HIPVs enhanced neighbouring plant resistance to aboveground squash bugs, but not adult beetles. Further investigations into the mechanism of interplant interaction revealed β-ocimene alone can elicit plant resistance against squash bugs. Overall, our findings reveal a novel form of volatile-mediated interactions between plants spanning across aboveground-belowground plant systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Morgan N Thompson
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Jayda Arriaga
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Biomedical Sciences Interdisciplinary Program, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - B Jack Bradford
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Rachel Kurian
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Gage Strozier
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
- Department of Horticultural Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
| | - Anjel M Helms
- Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, USA
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Qian J, Liao Y, Jian G, Jia Y, Zeng L, Gu D, Li H, Yang Y. Light induces an increasing release of benzyl nitrile against diurnal herbivore Ectropis grisescens Warren attack in tea (Camellia sinensis) plants. PLANT, CELL & ENVIRONMENT 2023; 46:3464-3480. [PMID: 37553868 DOI: 10.1111/pce.14687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 08/01/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are critical compounds that directly or indirectly regulate the tritrophic interactions among herbivores, natural enemies and plants. The synthesis and release of HIPVs are regulated by many biotic and abiotic factors. However, the mechanism by which multiple factors synergistically affect HIPVs release remains unclear. Tea plant (Camellia sinensis) is the object of this study because of its rich and varied volatile metabolites. In this study, benzyl nitrile was released from herbivore-attacked tea plants more in the daytime than at night, which was consistent with the feeding behaviour of tea geometrid (Ectropis grisescens Warren) larvae. The Y-tube olfactometer assay and insect resistance analysis revealed that benzyl nitrile can repel tea geometrid larvae and inhibit their growth. On the basis of enzyme activities in transiently transformed Nicotiana benthamiana plants, CsCYP79 was identified as a crucial regulator in the benzyl nitrile biosynthetic pathway. Light signalling-related transcription factor CsPIF1-like and the jasmonic acid (JA) signalling-related transcription factor CsMYC2 serve as the activator of CsCYP79 under light and damage conditions. Our study revealed that light (abiotic factor) and herbivore-induced damage (biotic stress) synergistically regulate the synthesis and release of benzyl nitrile to protect plants from diurnal herbivorous tea geometrid larvae.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiajia Qian
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany & Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yinyin Liao
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany & Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guotai Jian
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany & Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yongxia Jia
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany & Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, China
| | - Lanting Zeng
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany & Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Center of Economic Botany, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
| | - Dachuan Gu
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany & Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hanxiang Li
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany & Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuhua Yang
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Applied Botany & Key Laboratory of South China Agricultural Plant Molecular Analysis and Genetic Improvement, South China Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China
- South China National Botanical Garden, Guangzhou, China
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Martín-Cacheda L, Vázquez-González C, Rasmann S, Röder G, Abdala-Roberts L, Moreira X. Volatile-Mediated Signalling Between Potato Plants in Response to Insect Herbivory is not Contingent on Soil Nutrients. J Chem Ecol 2023; 49:507-517. [PMID: 37460650 PMCID: PMC10725352 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-023-01445-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2023] [Revised: 07/06/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2023] [Indexed: 12/17/2023]
Abstract
Plant-plant signalling via volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has been studied intensively, but its contingency on abiotic conditions (e.g., soil nutrients, drought, warming) is poorly understood. To address this gap, we carried out a greenhouse experiment testing whether soil nutrients influenced signalling between potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants in response to insect leaf herbivory by the generalist caterpillar Spodoptera exigua. We placed pairs of plants in plastic cages, where one plant acted as a VOC emitter and the other as a receiver. We factorially manipulated soil nutrients for both emitter and receiver plants, namely: unfertilized (baseline soil nutrients) vs. fertilized (augmented nutrients). Then, to test for signalling effects, half of the emitters within each fertilization level were damaged by S. exigua larvae and the other half remained undamaged. Three days after placing larvae, we collected VOCs from emitter plants to test for herbivory and fertilization effects on VOC emissions and placed S. exigua larvae on receivers to test for signalling effects on leaf consumption and larval mass gain as proxies of induced resistance. We found that herbivory increased total VOC emissions and altered VOC composition by emitter plants, but these effects were not contingent on fertilization. In addition, bioassay results showed that receivers exposed to VOCs from herbivore-damaged emitters had lower levels of herbivory compared to receivers exposed to undamaged emitters. However, and consistent with VOC results, fertilization did not influence herbivore-induced signalling effects on receiver resistance to herbivory. In sum, we found evidence of S. exigua-induced signalling effects on resistance to herbivory in potato plants but such effects were not affected by increased soil nutrients. These results call for further work testing signalling effects under broader range of nutrient concentration levels (including nutrient limitation), teasing apart the effects of specific nutrients, and incorporating other abiotic factors likely to interact or covary with soil nutrients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucía Martín-Cacheda
- Misión Biológica de Galicia (MBG-CSIC), Apartado de correos 28, Pontevedra, Galicia, 36080, Spain.
| | - Carla Vázquez-González
- Misión Biológica de Galicia (MBG-CSIC), Apartado de correos 28, Pontevedra, Galicia, 36080, Spain
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California-Irvine, Irvine, CA, 92697, USA
| | - Sergio Rasmann
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, Neuchâtel, 2000, Switzerland
| | - Gregory Röder
- Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, Neuchâtel, 2000, Switzerland
| | - Luis Abdala-Roberts
- Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Apartado Postal 4-116, Itzimná, Mérida, Yucatán, 97000, México
| | - Xoaquín Moreira
- Misión Biológica de Galicia (MBG-CSIC), Apartado de correos 28, Pontevedra, Galicia, 36080, Spain.
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Escobar-Bravo R, Lin PA, Waterman JM, Erb M. Dynamic environmental interactions shaped by vegetative plant volatiles. Nat Prod Rep 2023; 40:840-865. [PMID: 36727645 PMCID: PMC10132087 DOI: 10.1039/d2np00061j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
Covering: up to November 2022Plants shape terrestrial ecosystems through physical and chemical interactions. Plant-derived volatile organic compounds in particular influence the behavior and performance of other organisms. In this review, we discuss how vegetative plant volatiles derived from leaves, stems and roots are produced and released into the environment, how their production and release is modified by abiotic and biotic factors, and how they influence other organisms. Vegetative plant volatiles are derived from different biosynthesis and degradation pathways and are released via distinct routes. Both biosynthesis and release are regulated by other organisms as well as abiotic factors. In turn, vegetative plant volatiles modify the physiology and the behavior of a wide range of organisms, from microbes to mammals. Several concepts and frameworks can help to explain and predict the evolution and ecology of vegetative plant volatile emission patterns of specific pathways: multifunctionality of specialized metabolites, chemical communication displays and the information arms race, and volatile physiochemistry. We discuss how these frameworks can be leveraged to understand the evolution and expression patterns of vegetative plant volatiles. The multifaceted roles of vegetative plant volatiles provide fertile grounds to understand ecosystem dynamics and harness their power for sustainable agriculture.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Po-An Lin
- Department of Entomology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Jamie M Waterman
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Matthias Erb
- Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
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