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Oviposition by a moth suppresses constitutive and herbivore-induced plant volatiles in maize

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Abstract

Plant volatiles function as important signals for herbivores, parasitoids, predators, and neighboring plants. Herbivore attack can dramatically increase plant volatile emissions in many species. However, plants do not only react to herbivore-inflicted damage, but also already start adjusting their metabolism upon egg deposition by insects. Several studies have found evidence that egg deposition itself can induce the release of volatiles, but little is known about the effects of oviposition on the volatiles released in response to subsequent herbivory. To study this we measured the effect of oviposition by Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) moths on constitutive and herbivore-induced volatiles in maize (Zea mays L.). Results demonstrate that egg deposition reduces the constitutive emission of volatiles and suppresses the typical burst of inducible volatiles following mechanical damage and application of caterpillar regurgitant, a treatment that mimics herbivory. We discuss the possible mechanisms responsible for reducing the plant’s signaling capacity triggered by S. frugiperda oviposition and how suppression of volatile organic compounds can influence the interaction between the plant, the herbivore, and other organisms in its environment. Future studies should consider oviposition as a potential modulator of plant responses to insect herbivores.

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Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Abbreviations

VOCs:

Volatile organic compounds

HIPVs:

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles

GLVs:

Green leaf volatiles

DMNT:

(3E)-4,8-Dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene

SA:

Salicylic acid

JA:

Jasmonic acid

SEM:

Scanning electron microscopy

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Acknowledgments

We thank the two anonymous reviewers for helping us to improve the manuscript and the statistical analysis. We also thank INCT Semioquímicos na Agricultura, CNPq and FAPESP for financial support (Process 07/00906-9 and 573761/2008-6). ME, CAMR, LAM and TCJT were supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (3100A0-122132). This project was partially funded by the National Centre of Competence in Research (NCCR) “Plant Survival”, a research program of the Swiss National Science Foundation. The authors thank NAP/MEPA (ESALQ/USP) for technical support in microscopy.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Chemical Ecology and Insect Behavior, Department of Entomology and Acarology, Escola Superior de Agricultura “Luiz de Queiroz”, University of São Paulo, Av. Pádua Dias, 11, CP 09, Piracicaba, SP, 13418-900, Brazil

    M. Fernanda Gomes Villalba Peñaflor, Andrea Graf Werneburg, Fábio Cleisto Alda Dossi & J. Maurício Simões Bento

  2. Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology (FARCE), Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand, 11, CP 158, 2009, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Matthias Erb, Christelle Aurélie Maud Robert, Livia Atauri Miranda & Ted C. J. Turlings

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  1. M. Fernanda Gomes Villalba Peñaflor
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  8. J. Maurício Simões Bento
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Correspondence to J. Maurício Simões Bento.

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Peñaflor, M.F.G.V., Erb, M., Robert, C.A.M. et al. Oviposition by a moth suppresses constitutive and herbivore-induced plant volatiles in maize. Planta 234, 207–215 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00425-011-1409-9

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