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Chemical complexity of volatiles from plants induced by multiple attack

Nature Chemical Biology volume 5, pages 317–324 (2009)Cite this article

Abstract

The attack of a plant by herbivorous arthropods can result in considerable changes in the plant's chemical phenotype. The emission of so-called herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPV) results in the attraction of carnivorous enemies of the herbivores that induced these changes. HIPV induction has predominantly been investigated for interactions between one plant and one attacker. However, in nature plants are exposed to a variety of attackers, either simultaneously or sequentially, in shoots and roots, causing much more complex interactions than have usually been investigated in the context of HIPV. To develop an integrated view of how plants respond to their environment, we need to know more about the ways in which multiple attackers can enhance, attenuate, or otherwise alter HIPV responses. A multidisciplinary approach will allow us to investigate the underlying mechanisms of HIPV emission in terms of phytohormones, transcriptional responses and biosynthesis of metabolites in an effort to understand these complex plant-arthropod interactions.

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Figure 1: In response to feeding by caterpillars of the beet armyworm (Spodoptera exigua), a leaf feeder, a maize plant emits a range of HIPV aboveground, among which are fatty acid–derived green-leaf volatiles such as (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, the aromatic indole and terpenoids such as (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, S(–)-linalool and (E)-β-bergamotene99.
Figure 2: Effect of double herbivore infestation of a plant on attraction of predators.
Figure 3: Herbivore-induced plant volatiles in a double-attacker above- and belowground context.

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Acknowledgements

The research of the authors was financially supported by European Commission contract MC-RTN-CT-2003-504720 'ISONET' to M.D., by a VICI grant (865.03.002) to M.D. and by a VENI grant (016.091.105) to R.S. from the Earth and Life Sciences Foundation (ALW), which is subsidized by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO).

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  1. Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands

    Marcel Dicke, Joop J A van Loon & Roxina Soler

  2. Department of Multitrophic Interactions, Netherlands Institute for Ecology, NIOO KNAW, Heteren, The Netherlands

    Roxina Soler

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  1. Marcel Dicke
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Correspondence to Marcel Dicke.

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Dicke, M., van Loon, J. & Soler, R. Chemical complexity of volatiles from plants induced by multiple attack. Nat Chem Biol 5, 317–324 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.169

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