Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, 11 Rue Emile-argand, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland.
University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Sci Rep. 2021 Dec 8;11(1):23698. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-02801-2.
Insect and gastropod herbivores are major plant consumers and their importance in the evolution of plant defensive traits is broadly recognized. However, their respective effects on plant responses have rarely been compared. Here we focused on plant volatile emissions (VOCs) following herbivory and compared the effects of herbivory by caterpillars of the generalist insect Spodoptera littoralis and by generalist slugs of the genus Arion on the VOCs emissions of 14 cultivated plant species. Results revealed that plants consistently produced higher amounts of volatiles and responded more specifically to caterpillar than to slug herbivory. Specifically, plants released on average 6.0 times more VOCs (total), 8.9 times more green leaf volatiles, 4.2 times more terpenoids, 6.0 times more aromatic hydrocarbons, and 5.7 times more other VOCs in response to 1 cm of insect damage than to 1 cm of slug damage. Interestingly, four of the plant species tested produced a distinct blend of volatiles following insect damage but not slug damage. These findings may result from different chemical elicitors or from physical differences in herbivory by the two herbivores. This study is an important step toward a more inclusive view of plant responses to different types of herbivores.
昆虫和腹足类食草动物是主要的植物消费者，它们在植物防御特性进化中的重要性得到了广泛认可。然而，它们对植物反应的各自影响很少被比较。在这里，我们专注于植物挥发物排放（VOC）在受到草食性动物侵害后的变化，并比较了多食性昆虫斜纹夜蛾的幼虫和普通腹足类动物蛞蝓对 14 种栽培植物物种 VOC 排放的影响。结果表明，植物始终会产生更多数量的挥发物，并对毛虫的侵害比对蛞蝓的侵害有更具体的反应。具体而言，与 1 厘米蛞蝓伤害相比，植物对 1 厘米昆虫伤害的反应平均会释放出 6.0 倍的挥发物（总量）、8.9 倍的绿叶挥发物、4.2 倍的萜类化合物、6.0 倍的芳香烃和 5.7 倍的其他 VOC。有趣的是，在接受昆虫伤害后，四种被测试的植物物种会产生一种独特的挥发性混合物，但在受到蛞蝓伤害时不会产生这种混合物。这些发现可能是由于不同的化学诱导剂或两种食草动物在取食上的物理差异造成的。本研究是朝着更全面地了解植物对不同类型的食草动物的反应迈出的重要一步。
