Plant‐to‐plant defence induction in cotton is mediated by delayed release of volatiles upon herbivory
Caterpillar feeding immediately triggers the release of volatile compounds stored in the leaves of cotton plants. Additionally, after 1 d of herbivory, the leaves release other newly synthesised volatiles. We investigated whether these volatiles affect chemical defences in neighbouring plants and whether such temporal shifts in emissions matter for signalling between plants. Undamaged receiver plants were exposed to volatiles from plants infested with Spodoptera caterpillars. For receiver plants, we measured changes in defence-related traits such as volatile emissions, secondary metabolites, phytohormones, gene expression, and caterpillar feeding preference. Then, we compared the effects of volatiles emitted before and after 24 h of damage on neighbouring plant defences. Genes that were upregulated in receiver plants following exposure to volatiles from damaged plants were the same as those activated directly by herbivory on a plant. Only volatiles emitted after 24 h of damage, including newly produced volatiles, were found to increase phytohormone levels, upregulate defence genes, and enhance resistance to caterpillars. These results indicate that the defence induction by volatiles is a specific response to de novo synthesised volatiles, suggesting that these compounds are honest signals of herbivore attack. These findings point to an adaptive origin of airborne signalling between plants.
Authors
- Ted C. J. Turlings (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8315-785X)
- Carlos Bustos‐Segura (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8624-3251)
- Luca Grandi
- Luis Abdala‐Roberts (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1394-3043)
- Thierry Brévault (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0159-3509)
- Betty Benrey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3230-4450)
- Armelle Vallat (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7661-248X)
- Gaétan Glauser (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0983-8614)
- Mary V. Clancy (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5597-4978)
- Wenfeng Ye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0750-3236)
Institutions
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (FR)
- Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (FR)
- Université Paris-Est Créteil (FR)
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Université de Montpellier (FR)
- Université Paris Cité (FR)
- Autonomous University of Yucatán (MX)
- Sorbonne Université (FR)
- Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement (FR)
- Institut d'écologie et des sciences de l'environnement de Paris (FR)
- Center for Excellence in Molecular Plant Sciences (CN)
- Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles (SN)
- Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (FR)
- University of Neuchâtel (CH)
Publication Details
- Journal
- New Phytologist
- Published
- 2024-10-17
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.20202
- Citations
- 19
- Primary Topic
- Insect-Plant Interactions and Control
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 10.25
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Schweizerischer Nationalfonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung
- Université de Neuchâtel