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  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Antennal Electrophysiological Responses of Three Parasitic Wasps to Caterpillar-Induced Volatiles from Maize (Zea mays mays), Cotton (Gossypium herbaceum), and Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata)
    (2005)
    Gouinguené, Sandrine
    ;
    Pickett, John A.
    ;
    Wadhams, Lester J.
    ;
    Birkett, Michael A.
    ;
    Many parasitic wasps are attracted to volatiles that are released by plants when attacked by potential hosts. The attractiveness of these semiochemicals from damaged plants has been demonstrated in many tritrophic systems, but the physiological mechanisms underlying the insect responses are poorly understood. We recorded the antennal perception by three parasitoids (Cotesia marginiventris, Microplitis rufiventris, and Campoletis sonorensis) to volatiles emitted by maize, cowpea, and cotton plants after attack by the common caterpillar pest Spodoptera littoralis. Gas chromatography-electroantennography (GC-EAG) recordings showed that wasps responded to many, but not all, of the compounds present at the physiologically relevant levels tested. Interestingly, some minor compounds, still unidentified, elicited strong responses from the wasps. These results indicate that wasps are able to detect many odorant compounds released by the plants. It remains to be determined how this information is processed and leads to the specific behavior of the parasitoids.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Induction of Volatile Emissions in Maize by Different Larval Instars of Spodoptera littoralis
    (2003)
    Gouinguené, Sandrine
    ;
    Alborn, Hans
    ;
    Maize plants under attack by caterpillars emit a specific blend of volatiles that is highly attractive to parasitic wasps. The release of these signals is induced by elicitors in the caterpillar regurgitant. Studies suggest that plants respond differently to different herbivore species and even to different herbivore stages, thus providing parasitoids and predators with specific signals. We tested if this is the case for different larval instars of the noctuid moth Spodoptera littoralis when they feed on maize plants. Cut maize plants were incubated in diluted regurgitant from second, third, or fifth instar caterpillars. There were no differences in total amount released after these treatments, but there were small differences in the release of the minor compounds phenethyl acetate and α-humulene. Regurgitant of all three instars contained the elicitor volicitin. To test the effect of actual feeding by the larvae, potted plants were infested with caterpillars of one of the three instars, and volatiles were collected the following day. The intensity of the emissions was correlated with the number of larvae feeding on a plant, and with the amount of damage inflicted, but was independent of the instar that caused the damage. We also used artificial damage to mimic the manner of feeding of each instar to test the importance of physical aspects of damages for the odor emission. The emission was highly variable, but no differences were found among the different types of damage. In olfactometer tests, Microplitis rufiventris, a parasitoid that can only successfully parasitize second and early third instar S. littoralis, did not differentiate among the odors of maize plants attacked by different instar larvae. The odor analyses as well as the parasitoid's responses indicate that maize odors induced by S. littoralis provide parasitoids with poor information on the larval developmental stage. We discuss the results in the context of variability and lack of specificity in odorous plant signals.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Variability in herbivore-induced odour emissions among maize cultivars and their wild ancestors (teosinte)
    (2001)
    Gouinguené, Sandrine
    ;
    ;
    Maize plants respond to caterpillar feeding with the release of relatively large amounts of specific volatiles, which are known to serve as cues for parasitoids to locate their host. Little is known about the genetic variability in such herbivore-induced plant signals and about how the emissions in cultivated plants compare to those of their wild relatives. For this reason we compared the total quantity and the qualitative composition of the odour blend among eleven maize cultivars and five wild Zea (Poaceae) species (teosinte), as well as among the offspring of eight Zea mays mexicana plants from a single population. Young plants were induced to release volatiles by mechanically damaging the leaves and applying oral secretions of Spodoptera littoralis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) caterpillars to the wounded sites. Volatiles were collected 7 h after treatment and subsequently analysed by gas chromatography. The total amounts of volatiles released were significantly different among maize cultivars as well as among the teosintes. Moreover, striking differences were found in the composition of the induced odour blends. Caryophyllene, for instance, was released by some, but not all varieties and teosintes, and the ratios among monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes varied considerably. The offspring of different mother plants of the Z. m. mexicana population showed some variation in the total amounts that they released, but the composition of the odour blend was very consistent within the population of this teosinte species. We discuss the ecological significance of these findings in terms of specificity and reliability of induced plant signals for parasitoids.