Abstract
It is increasingly clear that plants perceive and respond to olfactory cues. Yet, knowledge about the specificity and sensitivity of such perception remains limited. We previously documented priming of anti-herbivore defenses in tall goldenrod plants (Solidago altissima) by volatile emissions from a specialist herbivore, the goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis). Here, we explore the specific chemical cues mediating this interaction. We report that E,S-conophthorin, the most abundant component of the emission of male flies, elicits a priming response equivalent to that observed for the overall blend. Furthermore, while the strength of priming is dose dependent, plants respond even to very low concentrations of E,S-conophthorin relative to typical fly emissions. Evaluation of other blend components yields results consistent with the hypothesis that priming in this interaction is mediated by a single compound. These findings provide insights into the perceptual capabilities underlying plant defense priming in response to olfactory cues.
Highlights
It is increasingly clear that plants perceive and respond to olfactory cues
Recent work has explored the priming of plant defenses via olfactory cues, focusing primarily on volatile emissions from damaged plant tissues[31,32,33,34,35], which have been shown to elicit defense priming in a wide range of plant species[21, 23]
Volatile emission samples were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS)
Summary
It is increasingly clear that plants perceive and respond to olfactory cues. Yet, knowledge about the specificity and sensitivity of such perception remains limited. Evaluation of other blend components yields results consistent with the hypothesis that priming in this interaction is mediated by a single compound These findings provide insights into the perceptual capabilities underlying plant defense priming in response to olfactory cues. We found that mated female E. solidaginis avoided plants previously exposed to the male emission when searching for oviposition sites To our knowledge, this remains the only documented example of plant response to an insect-produced odor cue, we have hypothesized that similar priming effects may occur in other co-evolved systems, where such cues reliably precede attack[36, 37]. The primary goal of the current study was to expand our understanding of plant olfactory responses by identifying the specific cues responsible for priming of S. altissima defenses following exposure to the volatile emission of E. solidaginis.
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