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Exploitation of herbivore-induced cotton volatiles by the parasitic wasp Bracon vulgaris reveals a dominant chemotactic effect of terpenoids

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Abstract

Plants emit a wide array of complex blends of volatile organic compounds that can be involved in plant communication with herbivores and their natural enemies. Bracon vulgaris Ashmead (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) is a gregarious larval ectoparasitoid that attacks the boll weevil larvae, Anthonomus grandis Boheman (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), an important pest in cotton plantations in Brazil. This parasitoid species has been studied as a potential biological control agent of A. grandis. However, little is known about B. vulgaris host foraging behaviour. We have previously demonstrated that female wasps respond to host-associated cues (boll weevil’s aggregation pheromone) and host habitat odours, such as cotton volatiles induced by the presence of the boll weevil’s pheromone. In the current study, we evaluated the electrophysiological and behavioural responses of B. vulgaris to constitutive and herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) emitted by A. grandis-infested cotton plants at different phenological stages. The results demonstrated that B. vulgaris recognizes and responds to reproductive cotton HIPVs and that polar compounds might not be essential for its attraction. Electroantennogram (EAG) recordings and bioassays suggested that the compounds β-myrcene, (E)-ocimene, (E)-4,8-dimethylnona-1,3,7-triene (DMNT), (E)-(1R,9S)-caryophyllene, and (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyltrideca-1,3,7,11-tetraene (TMTT), as well as other minor components of cotton blend, can be used by B. vulgaris wasps in its host foraging behaviour. Our results show an important role of terpenoids in cotton indirect defence, which is discussed relative to the role of other minor plant volatiles.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Isabela Grisi, Sulian Gomes de Azevedo and Helio Moreira da Silva for helping with laboratory rearing of the insects. This work received financial support from the Coordination of Superior Level Staff Improving (CAPES) through a grant to Izabela Thais Alves da Silva, the National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPq), the Federal District Research Foundation (FAP-DF) and the Brazilian Corporation of Agricultural Research (EMBRAPA, project number 20.19.03.016.00.02.007).

Funding

This work was funded by the Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuaria, 20.19.03.016.00.02.007 (for Maria Carolina Blassioli Moraes), the Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior, 88881.1317661/2014–01 (for Izabela Thais Fidelis Alves da Silva), and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico, 304329/2017–7 (for Maria Carolina Blassioli Moraes).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant and Environmental Science, Centre for Agricultural Science, Federal University of Paraíba, Areia, PB, 58397-000, Brazil

    Izabela Thaís Fidelis Alves Da Silva

  2. Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behaviour, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, University of São Paulo, Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil

    Diego Martins Magalhães

  3. Laboratory of Semiochemicals, Department of Biological Control, EMBRAPA Genetic Resources and Biotechnology, Brasília, DF, 70770-917, Brazil

    Miguel Borges, Raúl Alberto Laumann & Maria Carolina Blassioli-Moraes

  4. Department of Biosciences, Centre for Agricultural Science, Federal University of Paraíba, Areia, PB, 58397-000, Brazil

    Carlos Henrique De Brito

  5. EMBRAPA Cotton, Núcleo Do Cerrado, Santo Antônio de Goiás, GO, 75375-000, Brazil

    José Ednilson Miranda

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  1. Izabela Thaís Fidelis Alves Da Silva
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Correspondence to Diego Martins Magalhães or Maria Carolina Blassioli-Moraes.

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Da Silva, I.T.F.A., Magalhães, D.M., Borges, M. et al. Exploitation of herbivore-induced cotton volatiles by the parasitic wasp Bracon vulgaris reveals a dominant chemotactic effect of terpenoids. BioControl 67, 135–148 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10526-022-10135-9

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