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Herbivory-induced volatiles elicit defence genes in lima bean leaves

Nature volume 406, pages 512–515 (2000)Cite this article

Abstract

In response to herbivore damage, several plant species emit volatiles that attract natural predators of the attacking herbivores1,2,3,4,5. Using spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) and predatory mites (Phytoseiulus persimilis)1,2,3,4, it has been shown that not only the attacked plant but also neighbouring plants are affected, becoming more attractive to predatory mites3,6 and less susceptible to spider mites6. The mechanism involved in such interactions, however, remains elusive. Here we show that uninfested lima bean leaves activate five separate defence genes when exposed to volatiles from conspecific leaves infested with T. urticae, but not when exposed to volatiles from artificially wounded leaves. The expression pattern of these genes is similar to that produced by exposure to jasmonic acid. At least three terpenoids in the volatiles are responsible for this gene activation; they are released in response to herbivory but not artificial wounding. Expression of these genes requires calcium influx and protein phosphorylation/dephosphorylation.

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Figure 1: Expression of defence genes in lima bean leaves.
Figure 2: Compounds identified in headspace volatiles of detached leaves.
Figure 3: Expression of genes in leaves fumigated with a terpenoid compound.

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Acknowledgements

We thank J. Horiuchi for assistance in experiments, and M. Dicke, M. W. Sabelis, J. Bruin and M. Kant for their comments on the manuscript. This study was partly supported by the Program for Promotion of Basic Research Activities for Innovative Biosciences (Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution) and by a Research for the Future program (JSPS-RFTF96L006703).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bio-oriented Technology Research Advancement Institution, Tokyo, 105-0001, Japan

    Gen-ichiro Arimura, Rika Ozawa & Takeshi Shimoda

  2. Laboratory of Ecological Information, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Gen-ichiro Arimura, Rika Ozawa, Takeshi Shimoda & Junji Takabayashi

  3. Laboratory of Insect Physiology, Graduate School of Agriculture, Kyoto University, Kitashirakawa, Kyoto, 606-8502, Japan

    Takaaki Nishioka

  4. Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Carl-Zeiss-Promenade 10, Jena, D-07745, Germany

    Wilhelm Boland

Authors
  1. Gen-ichiro Arimura
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  2. Rika Ozawa
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  4. Takaaki Nishioka
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  6. Junji Takabayashi
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Correspondence to Junji Takabayashi.

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Arimura, Gi., Ozawa, R., Shimoda, T. et al. Herbivory-induced volatiles elicit defence genes in lima bean leaves . Nature 406, 512–515 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35020072

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