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Galling impacts of the gall wasp Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) on Eucalyptus trees vary with plant genotype

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Abstract

Impacts of galling on the distributions of plant metabolites can vary greatly with plant genotype. In this study, two Eucalyptus genotypes with different resistance levels were chosen, and the levels of several primary and secondary metabolites, as well as phytohormones in galls and ungalled portions of galled leaves infested by the gall wasp Leptocybe invasa, and gall-free (control) leaves were compared. It was found that galls of both two plant genotypes accumulated higher concentrations of carbon, total phenolics, gibberellins (GA), and abscisic acid (ABA) but had lower chlorophyll content than ungalled portions. However, galls of highly susceptible genotype contained higher nitrogen (N), cytokinins (CK), GA, and chlorophyll content but lower C/N ratio, total phenolics, tannins, and ABA than less susceptible genotype. For both two genotypes, ABA in galls and ungalled portions increased compared with adjacent control leaves. CK and GA levels increased in galls but decreased in ungalled portions of highly susceptible genotype, compared with control leaves. For less susceptible genotype, CK levels increased in both galls and ungalled portions compared with control leaves, but higher levels of tannins, total phenolics, and GA were only detected in galls. Therefore, our study found insufficient evidence that the impact of galling on the distributions of these metabolites and phytohormones extended beyond the attacked leaves, because they varied greatly with plant genotype.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge Baoming Wang from the Chinese Agriculture University for his assistance with phytohormone analysis. We would like to thank the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Forestry Research Institution for providing the seedlings of Eucalyptus trees. We also appreciate Professor Roy van Driesche for the language edits.

Funding

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (31800423, 31660087) and the Natural Science Foundation of Guangxi Province (2018GXNSFBA281172).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangxi Key Laboratory of Forest Ecology and Conservation, College of Forestry, Guangxi University, Nanning, 530001, China

    Yao Xiang, Si Shen, Xu Gao & Xiaoqiong Li

  2. Guangxi Crop Genetic Improvement and Biotechnology Laboratory, Guangxi Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanning, 530007, China

    Wenfeng Guo

  3. Guangxi Youyiguan Forest Ecosystem Research Station, Pingxiang, 532600, China

    Xiaoqiong Li

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  1. Yao Xiang
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Xiang, Y., Guo, W., Shen, S. et al. Galling impacts of the gall wasp Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) on Eucalyptus trees vary with plant genotype. Int J Trop Insect Sci 40, 267–275 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42690-019-00076-9

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