| Title: | "Present or past herbivory: a screening of volatiles released from Brassica rapa under caterpillar attacks as attractants for the solitary parasitoid, Cotesia vestalis" |
| Author(s): | Kugimiya S; Shimoda T; Tabata J; Takabayashi J; |
| Address: | "National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Kannondai 3-1-3, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8604, Japan. kugimiya@affrc.go.jp" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10886-010-9802-6 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1573-1561 (Electronic) 0098-0331 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Females of the solitary endoparasitoid Cotesia vestalis respond to a blend of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released from plants infested with larvae of their host, the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella), which is an important pest insect of cruciferous plants. We investigated the flight response of female parasitoids to the cruciferous plant Brassica rapa, using two-choice tests under laboratory conditions. The parasitoids were more attracted to plants that had been infested for at least 6 hr by the host larvae compared to intact plants, but they did not distinguish between plants infested for only 3 hr and intact plants. Although parasitoids preferred plants 1 and 2 days after herbivory (formerly infested plants) over intact plants they also preferred plants that had been infested for 24 hr over formerly infested plants. This suggests that parasitoids can distinguish between the VOC profiles of currently and formerly infested plants. We screened for differences in VOC emissions among the treatments and found that levels of benzyl cyanide and dimethyl trisulfide significantly decreased after removal of the host larvae, whereas terpenoids and their related compounds continued to be released at high levels. Benzyl cyanide and dimethyl trisulfide attracted parasitoids in a dose-dependent manner, whereas the other compounds were not attractive. These results suggest that nitrile and sulfide compounds temporarily released from plants under attack by host larvae are potentially more effective attractants for this parasitoid than other VOCs that are continuously released by host-damaged plants" |
| Keywords: | "Animals Behavior, Animal/drug effects Brassica rapa/*metabolism/parasitology Female Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Host-Parasite Interactions Moths/*physiology Plant Leaves/metabolism/parasitology Time Factors Volatile Organic Compounds/chemistry/*p;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineKugimiya, Soichi Shimoda, Takeshi Tabata, Jun Takabayashi, Junji eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't 2010/05/22 J Chem Ecol. 2010 Jun; 36(6):620-8. doi: 10.1007/s10886-010-9802-6. Epub 2010 May 20" |
