Aphid alarm pheromone produced by transgenic plants affects aphid and parasitoid behavior

The alarm pheromone for many species of aphids, which causes dispersion in response to attack by predators or parasitoids, consists of the sesquiterpene (E)-β-farnesene (Eβf). We used high levels of expression in Arabidopsis thaliana plants of an Eβf synthase gene cloned from Mentha x piperita to ca...

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Published inProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - PNAS Vol. 103; no. 27; pp. 10509 - 10513
Main Authors Beale, M.H, Birkett, M.A, Bruce, T.J.A, Chamberlain, K, Field, L.M, Huttly, A.K, Martin, J.L, Parker, R, Phillips, A.L, Pickett, J.A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States National Academy of Sciences 05.07.2006
National Acad Sciences
Subjects
(E)-beta-farnesene synthase
alarm pheromones
alarm response
Animals
Aphididae
Aphids - physiology
Arabidopsis - genetics
Arabidopsis - metabolism
Arabidopsis - parasitology
Arabidopsis thaliana
arrestant response
Behavior, Animal
Biological Sciences
biosynthesis
Chemicals
Diaeretiella rapae
Diareretiella rapae
Electrophysiology
farnesene
Female
Flowering
Flowers & plants
Foraging
gene expression
Genes
Insect behavior
Insect Control
Insects
Mentha piperita
Myzus persicae
Parasitoids
Pests
Pheromones
Pheromones - biosynthesis
Pheromones - genetics
plant-insect relations
Plants
Plants, Genetically Modified
Predation
repellent reponse
Sesquiterpenes
transgenes
Transgenic insects
Transgenic plants
volatile organic compounds
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Summary:The alarm pheromone for many species of aphids, which causes dispersion in response to attack by predators or parasitoids, consists of the sesquiterpene (E)-β-farnesene (Eβf). We used high levels of expression in Arabidopsis thaliana plants of an Eβf synthase gene cloned from Mentha x piperita to cause emission of pure Eβf. These plants elicited potent effects on behavior of the aphid Myzus persicae (alarm and repellent responses) and its parasitoid Diaeretiella rapae (an arrestant response). Here, we report the transformation of a plant to produce an insect pheromone and demonstrate that the resulting emission affects behavioral responses at two trophic levels.
Bibliography:http://www.pnas.org/contents-by-date.0.shtml
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Author contributions: M.H.B., T.J.A.B., A.K.H., A.L.P., J.A.P., P.R.S., L.E.S., and L.J.W. designed research; M.A.B., T.J.A.B., K.C., J.L.M., R.P., I.M.P., L.E.S., C.M.W., and Y.Z. performed research; I.M.P. contributed new reagents/analytic tools; T.J.A.B. analyzed data; and T.J.A.B., L.M.F., J.A.P., and I.M.P. wrote the paper.
Present address: Plant Sciences Division, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough LE12 5RD, United Kingdom.
Communicated by James H. Tumlinson, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA, May 15, 2006
ISSN:0027-8424
1091-6490
DOI:10.1073/pnas.0603998103