Cotton Fleahopper and Associated Microorganisms as Components in the Production of Stress Ethylene by Cotton

Abstract

Excised cotton terminal buds incubated with adults or nymphs of the cotton fleahopper (CFH), Pseudatomoscelis seriatus (Reuter), produced ethylene at theoretical abscission-inducing rates by 24 h after introduction of the insect. Inoculation of cotton shoot tips with three microorganisms commonly associated with CFH and cotton in all cases promoted ethylene production to theoretical abscission-inducing rates by 24 h after inoculation. CFH alone or injection of microorganisms consistently caused cotton shoot tips to darken and become soft. These changes paralleled the rise in ethylene production and did not occur in control shoot tips. Of the three microorganisms, Xanthomonas campestris pv malvacearum (Smith) Dye (XCM) produced little ethylene when grown in culture, while the two fungi, Penicillium purpurogenum Stoll and P. glabrum (Wehmer) Westling, produced higher levels. The parallel between plant response to CFH, XCM, and CFH + XCM suggests a similar mechanism of ethylene induction by these two stress agents. Since a portion of the CFH were devoid of microorganisms, yet their impact on ethylene production by cotton tissue was uniform, we propose that the primary mechanism of ethylene induction involves the insect's salivary fluids which contain cell wall hydrolyzing enzymes.