Turlings, Ted

2016-7-6, Rasmann, Sergio, Turlings, Ted

2014, Sobhy, Islam S., Erb, Matthias, Turlings, Ted

Background Herbivore-damaged plants release a blend of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that differs from undamaged plants. These induced changes are known to attract the natural enemies of the herbivores and therefore are expected to be important determinants of the effectiveness of biological control in agriculture. One way of boosting this phenomenon is the application of plant strengtheners, which has been shown to enhance parasitoid attraction in maize. It is unclear if this is also the case for other important crops. Results We applied the plant strengtheners BTH (benzo (1,2,3) thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester) or laminarin to cotton plants and studied the effects on volatile releases and the attraction of three hymenopteran parasitoids, Cotesia marginiventris, Campoletis sonorensis and Microplitis rufiventris. After treated and untreated plants were induced by real or simulated caterpillar feeding, we found that BTH treatment increased the attraction of the parasitoids, whereas laminarin had no significant effect. BTH treatment selectively increased the release of two homoterpenes and reduced the emission of indole, the latter of which has been shown to interfere with parasitoid attraction in earlier studies. Canonical variate analyses of the data show that the parasitoid responses were dependent on the quality rather than the quantity of volatile emission in this tritrophic interaction. Conclusion Overall, these results strengthen the emerging paradigm that induction of plant defences with chemical elicitors such as BTH could provide a sustainable and environment-friendly strategy for biological control of pests by enhancing the attractiveness of cultivated plants to natural enemies of insect herbivores.

2014, Simone De Lange, Elvira, Balmer, Dirk, Mauch-Mani, Brigitte, Turlings, Ted

2014, Maag, Daniel, Dalvit, Claudio, Thevenet, Damien, Köhler, Angela, Wouters, Felipe C., Vassão, Daniel G., Gershenzon, Jonathan, Wolfender, Jean-Luc, Turlings, Ted, Erb, Matthias, Glauser, Gaetan

In order to defend themselves against arthropod herbivores, maize plants produce 1,4-benzoxazin-3-ones (BXs), which are stored as weakly active glucosides in the vacuole. Upon tissue disruption, BXs come into contact with ?-glucosidases, resulting in the release of active aglycones and their breakdown products. While some aglycones can be reglucosylated by specialist herbivores, little is known about how they detoxify BX breakdown products. Here we report on the structure of an N-glucoside, 3-?-d-glucopyranosyl-6-methoxy-2-benzoxazolinone (MBOA-N-Glc), purified from Spodoptera frugiperda faeces. In vitro assays showed that MBOA-N-Glc is formed enzymatically in the insect gut using the BX breakdown product 6-methoxy-2-benzoxazolinone (MBOA) as precursor. While Spodoptera littoralis and S. frugiperda caterpillars readily glucosylated MBOA, larvae of the European corn borer Ostrinia nubilalis were hardly able to process the molecule. Accordingly, Spodoptera caterpillar growth was unaffected by the presence of MBOA, while O. nubilalis growth was reduced. We conclude that glucosylation of MBOA is an important detoxification mechanism that helps insects tolerate maize BXs.

2015-4-23, Pineda, Ana, Soler, Roxina, Pozo, Marìa José, Rasmann, Sergio, Turlings, Ted

2014, Chabaane, Yosra, Laplanche, Diane, Turlings, Ted, Desurmont, Gaylord A.

1. When exotic herbivores invade new environments, they have the potential to interfere with native predator-prey relationships. This interference can be indirect, via changes induced in native host plants, and may have cascading consequences at the community level. Here we investigate the impact of the presence of an exotic generalist insect herbivore, the African cotton leafworm Spodoptera littoralis, on the outcome of native tritrophic interactions between the plant Brassica rapa, the herbivore Pieris brassicae, and its parasitoid Cotesia glomerata. 2. In olfactometer choice-tests, plants damaged by S. littoralis and plants damaged by both S. littoralis and P. brassicae were consistently less attractive to the parasitoid than plants damaged by P. brassicae alone. Chemical analyses revealed that B. rapa volatiles typically induced by S. littoralis dominated the headspace in case of dual herbivore infestation. 3. In behavioral observations in petri dishes, C. glomerata wasps mistakenly attacked S. littoralis larvae significantly more often when P. brassicae was present, and attacks on both herbivores were comparable in terms of time (attack duration) and energy investment (number of eggs injected). Successful parasitism of S. littoralis was never observed, but larvae exposed to C. glomerata for 24 hours exhibited reduced survivorship, possibly as a result of failed parasitism attempts. 4. In tents with herbivore-infested B. rapa plants, the presence of S. littoralis did not have an effect on the parasitism rates of P. brassicae by C. glomerata, regardless of whether the two species were on the same or on different plants. Field experiments in newly invaded environments are necessary to evaluate the realized impact of S. littoralis. 5. Synthesis. Our study illustrates that exotic herbivores can impact native tritrophic interactions associated with Brassica rapa, even if they cannot be used as prey by native natural enemies. The mechanisms behind such effects, in particular chemical interference with foraging cues via changes in herbivore-induced plant volatiles, have the potential to be quite general, and their long-term effects on native communities should not be underestimated. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

2014, Desurmont, Gaylord A., Harvey, J., van Dam, N. M., Cristescu, S. M., Schiestl, F. P., Cozzolino, S., Anderson, P., Larsson, M. C., Kindlmann, P., Danner, H., Turlings, Ted

Insect herbivores trigger various biochemical changes in plants, and as a consequence, affect other organisms that are associated with these plants. Such plant-mediated indirect effects often involve herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) that can be used as cues for foraging herbivores and their natural enemies, and are also known to affect pollinator attraction. In tightly co-evolved systems, the different trophic levels are expected to display adaptive response to changes in HIPVs caused by native herbivores. But what if a new herbivore invades such a system? Current literature suggests that exotic herbivores have the potential to affect HIPV production, and that plant responses to novel herbivores are likely to depend on phylogenetic relatedness between the invader and the native species. Here we review the different ways exotic herbivores can disrupt chemically mediated interactions between plants and the key users of HIPVs: herbivores, pollinators, and members of the third (i.e. predators and parasitoids) and fourth (i.e. hyperparasitoids) trophic levels. Current theory on insect invasions needs to consider that disruptive effects of invaders on infochemical networks can have a short-term impact on the population dynamics of native insects and plants, as well as exerting potentially negative consequences for the functioning of native ecosystems.

2015, Kim, J.W., Geoffrey, Jaffuel, Turlings, Ted

2014, D'Alessandro, Marco, Erb, Matthias, Ton, Jurriaan, Brandenburg, Anna, Karlen, Danielle, Zopfi, Jakob, Turlings, Ted

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released by soil microorganisms influence plant growth and pathogen resistance. Yet, very little is known about their influence on herbivores and higher trophic levels. We studied the origin and role of a major bacterial VOC, 2,3-butanediol (2,3-BD), on plant growth, pathogen and herbivore resistance, and the attraction of natural enemies in maize. One of the major contributors to 2,3-BD in the headspace of soil-grown maize seedlings was identified as Enterobacter aerogenes, an endophytic bacterium that colonizes the plants. The production of 2,3-BD by E.?aerogenes rendered maize plants more resistant against the Northern corn leaf blight fungus Setosphaeria turcica. On the contrary, E.?aerogenes-inoculated plants were less resistant against the caterpillar Spodoptera littoralis. The effect of 2,3-BD on the attraction of the parasitoid Cotesia marginiventris was more variable: 2,3-BD application to the headspace of the plants had no effect on the parasitoids, but application to the soil increased parasitoid attraction. Furthermore, inoculation of seeds with E.?aerogenes decreased plant attractiveness, whereas inoculation of soil with a total extract of soil microbes increased parasitoid attraction, suggesting that the effect of 2,3-BD on the parasitoid is indirect and depends on the composition of the microbial community.

2014, Desurmont, Gaylord A., Laplanche, Diane, Schiestl, F. P., Turlings, Ted