Endogenous plant metabolites against insects

Abstract

Herbivorous insects are responsible for large losses to agriculture through feeding damage itself but also by vectoring pathogens such as viruses. Plants have evolved various mechanisms to defend themselves against insects, including the production of specialised metabolites that act as natural insecticides. Throughout history, plants and plant extracts harbouring specialised metabolites have been exploited by man for their anti-insect properties. Also, commercial insecticides are often based on plant-specialised metabolites and adapted further e.g. to give them the physicochemical properties that render them systemic. The development and application of these synthetic pesticides has made it possible to scale up the production and to increase the yield of food crops worldwide. However, their adversary effects on the environment and on non-target organisms, first discussed in Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring, continue to cause debate and recently resulted in a ban on the use of certain pesticides in the European Union. The trait of insect defence has been largely overlooked during crop domestication and resulted in basically unarmed crop plants. Endogenous production of specialised metabolites could be re-introduced in modern crop varieties to retrieve self-defences. However, despite the fact that a plethora of specialised metabolites from plants has been described, studies that validate their deterrent or insecticidal effect in planta (crop), let alone in field situations, are sparse. To answer the question whether it is feasible to re-introduce endogenous insecticides to bring about insect resistance, the defence metabolites of plants, their synthesis and regulatory mechanisms underlying their production are examined.