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Compatible and Incompatible Xanthomonas Infections Differentially Affect Herbivore-Induced Volatile Emission by Pepper Plants

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Abstract

Recent studies have alerted us to the potential for conflicts between pathogen- and herbivore-induced plant defenses. The lack of studies on the induced chemical changes that simultaneous insect and pathogen attacks have on the host plant has become apparent. In the present study, we found that pepper plant volatile profiles can be differentially induced by compatible and incompatible bacterial infection and beet armyworm (BAW) damage when applied alone or in combination upon the same host. We also found that plants under simultaneous compatible bacterial and BAW attack are able to produce volatiles in quantities greater than those produced by healthy plants in response to BAW feeding. In contrast, plants exposed to the incompatible pathogen challenge showed a total volatile release below the level of healthy plants exposed to BAW damage. This suppression of BAW-induced volatiles coincided with increased methyl salicylate production from incompatible bacteria-infected plants. Feeding choice experiments revealed that, when given a choice, BAW larvae fed significantly more on leaves of plants infected with the incompatible bacteria as soon as 2 d after inoculation, while a significant increase in insect feeding on the plants infected with the compatible bacterial strain was not seen until day 4 after inoculation. Additionally, survival for third instars to pupation was significantly higher when feeding on infected plants than on healthy plants, regardless of compatibility. These results are indicative of lowered herbivore defenses due to disease progression on the plants.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Hans T. Alborn, Peggy Brennan, and Carolina Briceño (USDA-ARS/CMAVE, Gainesville, FL) for technical support. Our appreciation is extended to Nancy Epsky (USDA-ARS/SAA, Miami, FL) and Claudio Gratton (Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI) for comments on a previous version of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611-0620, USA

    Yasmin J. Cardoza

  2. Center for Medical Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 1700 SW 23rd Drive, Gainesville, FL, 32608, USA

    James H. Tumlinson

  3. 345 Russell Laboratories, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Yasmin J. Cardoza

  4. Department of Entomology, 111 Chemical Ecology Laboratory, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    James H. Tumlinson

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  1. Yasmin J. Cardoza
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  2. James H. Tumlinson
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Correspondence to Yasmin J. Cardoza.

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Cardoza, Y.J., Tumlinson, J.H. Compatible and Incompatible Xanthomonas Infections Differentially Affect Herbivore-Induced Volatile Emission by Pepper Plants. J Chem Ecol 32, 1755–1768 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-006-9107-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-006-9107-y

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