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Influence of Feeding and Oviposition by Phytophagous Pentatomids on Photosynthesis of Herbaceous Plants

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Abstract

Feeding by herbivorous insects may change photosynthetic activity of host plants. We studied how feeding and oviposition by herbivorous stink bugs, Murgantia histrionica and Nezara viridula (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), affect photosynthetic parameters of Brassica oleracea (savoy cabbage) and Phaseolus vulgaris (French bean). First, we measured photosynthetic gas exchange, chlorophyll fluorescence imaging, and emission of induced volatile organic compounds (VOC) immediately after feeding and during a post-feeding period. Photosynthesis decreased rapidly and substantially in B. oleracea and P. vulgaris infested by feeding bugs. Stomatal conductance did not decrease proportionally with photosynthesis; instead, inhibition of photosynthesis likely was due to a reduced diffusion of CO2 in the mesophyll. We also measured the impact of oviposition per se and oviposition associated with feeding on photosynthetic parameters. A surprisingly large inhibition of photosynthesis was detected in cabbage leaves in response to oviposition by M. histrionica, even when oviposition was not associated with feeding activity. High resolution chlorophyll fluorescence imaging revealed that the damage to photochemistry caused by feeding and oviposition was restricted to the attacked areas. By contrast, the photochemical yield increased temporarily in the unaffected areas of the attacked leaves, indicating the onset of a compensatory response. Measurement of volatile organic compounds (VOC) revealed that feeding-damaged plants did not emit detectable amounts of VOC, indicating cellular damage (methanol and green leaf volatiles). However, feeding by M. histrionica induced emission of mono- and sesquiterpenes in savoy cabbage leaves. The different time-course of the induction of these two classes of terpenes may reflect the induction of two different biosynthetic pathways and indicate different roles of these terpenoids in tritrophic interactions.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the project of the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) 2007 “Enhancing foraging behaviour of insect egg parasitoids: the role of the volatile organic compounds and the epicuticular layers of the plants”. The authors are thankful to Dr. Claudia Vickers for critically reviewing the paper.

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  1. Violeta Velikova

    Present address: Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Biologia Agroambientale e Forestale (CNR-IBAF), Via Salaria Km. 29,300, 00015 Monterotondo, Roma, Italy

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Plant Physiology, Acad. G. Bonchev Str., Bl. 21, Sofia, 1113, Bulgaria

    Violeta Velikova

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Ambientali, Università di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121, Perugia, Italy

    Gianandrea Salerno, Francesca Frati & Eric Conti

  3. Dipartimento di S.En.Fi.Mi.Zo., sezione di Entomologia, Zoologia ed Acarologia, Università di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze 13, 90128, Palermo, Italy

    Ezio Peri & Stefano Colazza

  4. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto per la Protezione delle Piante (CNR-IPP), 50019 Sesto Fiorentino, Firenze, Italy

    Francesco Loreto

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  1. Violeta Velikova
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Velikova, V., Salerno, G., Frati, F. et al. Influence of Feeding and Oviposition by Phytophagous Pentatomids on Photosynthesis of Herbaceous Plants. J Chem Ecol 36, 629–641 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-010-9801-7

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