Attraction of the stink bug egg parasitoid Telenomus podisi to defence signals from soybean activated by treatment with cis‐jasmone

Abstract

After herbivore attack or chemical activation, plants release a blend of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that is qualitatively or quantitatively different to the blend emitted by an undamaged plant. The altered blend of VOCs is then usually attractive to the herbivore's natural enemies. Soybean, Glycine max (L.) (Fabaceae), when damaged by stink bug herbivory, has been shown to emit a blend of VOCs that attracts the stink bug egg parasitoid Telenomus podisi (Ashmead) (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) to the plant. In this study, our aim was to investigate changes in the VOC profile of soybean (var. BR16) elicited by the naturally occurring plant activator cis‐jasmone, and to determine whether these changes elicited the attraction of T. podisi. cis‐Jasmone elicited chemical defence in soybean similar to that previously reported for stink bug damage. The main components induced by cis‐jasmone were camphene, myrcene, (E)‐ocimene, methyl salicylate, and (E,E)‐4,8,12‐trimethyltrideca‐1,3,7,11‐tetraene. In Y‐tube behavioural bioassays, T. podisi preferred cis‐jasmone treated plants over untreated plants. Thus, cis‐jasmone appears to induce defence pathways in soybean similar to those induced by stink bug damage, and this phenomenon appears to be a promising tool for the manipulation of beneficial natural enemies in future sustainable stink bug control strategies. The delay in response demonstrates that cis‐jasmone treatment is not directly causing the response, but, more importantly, that it is causing activation of induced defence, long after initial treatment.

Interactions between tomato volatile organic compounds and aphid behaviour

“…This compound has been reported to be repellent for the aphids Sitobion avenae (Bruce et al 2003) and Aphis gossypii (Moraes et al 2009) but highly attractive towards the aphid parasitoid A. ervi (Birkett et al 2000;Sasso et al 2009). These contrasting results can only be explained by a specific plant-mediation.…”

Chemical Ecology of Egg Parasitoids Associated with True Bugs

“…podisi responded to volatiles from soybean and pigeon pea fed upon by adults and nymphs of E. heros [41]. Application of cis-jasmone elicited a similar volatile profile from soybean plants after 96 hours with quantitative, rather than qualitative, chemical differences and resulted in the concomitant attraction of egg parasitoids [66]. Remarkably, when resistant versus susceptible soybean cultivars were compared, parasitoids were only attracted to resistant cultivars; volatile profiles in damaged plants differed between cultivars.…”

Chemical Ecology Studies in Soybean Crop in Brazil and Their Application to Pest Management

“…The concept of integrated pest management (IPM) is evolving toward a more sustainable management system in which external chemical interventions are a last therapeutic resort. Sustainable agriculture requires management of the ecosystem so as to conserve the natural enemies that are instrumental in suppressing pest populations (Knight & Gurr, 2007;Weiss et al, 2009;Moraes et al, 2009). While the sustainable agriculture movement has been gaining momentum, the genetically engineered crop revolution has begun in earnest with releases of Bt-cotton, -corn andpotato, with genetically engineered strains of soybean, sorghum, canola, alfalfa and wheat soon to follow.…”