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Turlings, Ted
Nom
Turlings, Ted
Affiliation principale
Fonction
Professeur ordinaire
Email
ted.turlings@unine.ch
Identifiants
Résultat de la recherche
Voici les éléments 1 - 6 sur 6
- PublicationAccès libreTritrophic interactions on cultivated maize and its wild ancestor "teosinte"(2014)
At first, we assessed in nature which insects occur on teosinte. Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is reported as an important maize pest in the Americas and is frequently attacked by many species of parasitoids. However, little is known about the presence of this herbivore and its associated parasitoids on teosinte.
In a laboratory setting, we then assessed whether maize and teosinte emit a similar blend of volatiles when induced by lepidopteran herbivores. We also evaluated the attractiveness of the odor blends to females of two species of parasitoid wasps. Although the odor blends appeared similar upon gas chromatography analysis, the foraging parasitoids responded differentially to them. We obtained similar results when testing real plants and extracts of collected odors, indicating that these extracts can be used to identify the key compounds that are responsible for parasitoid attraction.
There is surprisingly little field evidence for fitness benefits for plants due to the action of natural enemies. This is still an important point in the discussion on the possible indirect defense role of inducible plant volatiles, especially in the case of parasitoids that, unlike predators, do not directly kill their hosts. Therefore, we evaluated how parasitoid wasps can affect plant performance in a semi-natural setting in Mexico. The presence of parasitoid wasps in field tents containing teosinte plants and fall armyworm significantly reduced herbivore damage, which, for the smallest plants, resulted in a reduction in plant mortality. These findings support the notion that plants may benefit from the presence of parasitoids and may help to resolve the current debate on the defensive function of herbivore-induced volatiles.
To further explore the importance of volatiles for the attraction of parasitoids under field conditions, we studied maize lox10 mutants, impaired in the biosynthesis of green leaf volatiles (GLVs). These volatiles, responsible for the smell of cut grass, are commonly emitted by plants when wounded or attacked by herbivores. Previously, laboratory studies have shown that GLVs can be used as foraging cues by predators and parasitoids. However, our results imply that GLVs are not of key importance for parasitoid attraction in the field.
Collectively, these studies provide novel insights into the importance of herbivore-induced volatiles for the attraction of parasitoid wasps, and their indirect importance for plant growth and survival. We identified differences between maize and its wild ancestor, teosinte, with respect to the attraction of parasitoids that could possibly be exploited for ecologically sound methods to better protect maize against insect pests. - PublicationAccès libreMinor effects of two elicitors of insect and pathogen resistance on volatile emissions and parasitism of Spodoptera frugiperda in Mexican maize fields(2012)
; ; ; D’Alessandro, MarcoSynthetic elicitors can be used to induce resistance in plants against pathogens and arthropod herbivores. Such compounds may also change the emission of herbivore-induced plant volatiles, which serve as important cues for parasitic wasps to locate their hosts. Therefore, the use of elicitors in the field may affect biological control of insect pests. To test this, we treated maize seedlings growing in a subtropical field in Mexico with methyl jasmonate (MeJA), an elicitor of defense responses against many insects, and benzo-(1,2,3)-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester (BTH), an elicitor of resistance against certain pathogens. Volatile emission, herbivore infestation, pathogen infection, and plant performance (growth and grain yield) of treated and untreated maize plants were measured. Application of BTH slightly reduced volatile emission in maize, while MeJA increased the emission compared to control treatments. Despite the apparent changes in volatile emissions, the elicitor application did not consistently affect infestation by Spodoptera frugiperda larvae, the main insect pest found on the maize seedlings, and had only marginal effects on parasitism rates. Similarly, there were no treatment effects on infestation by other herbivores and pathogens. Results for the six replications that stretched over one summer and one winter season were highly variable, with parasitism rates and the species composition of the parasitoids differing significantly between seasons. This variability, as well as the severe biotic and abiotic stresses on young seedlings might explain why we measured only slight effects of elicitor application on pest incidence and biological control in this specific field study. Indeed, an additional field experiment under milder and more standardized conditions revealed that BTH induced significant resistance against Bipolaris maydis, a major pathogen in the experimental maize fields. Similar affects can be expected for herbivory and parasitism rates. - PublicationAccès libreDispensing synthetic green leaf volatiles in maize fields increases the release of sesquiterpenes by the plants, but has little effect on the attraction of pest and beneficial insects(2011)
; ; D’Alessandro, MarcoMaize plants respond to feeding by arthropod herbivores by producing a number of secondary plant compounds, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These herbivore-induced VOCs are not only known to attract natural enemies of the herbivores, but they may also prime inducible defences in neighbouring plants, resulting in stronger and faster defence responses in these VOC-exposed plants. Among the compounds that cause this priming effect, green leaf volatiles (GLVs) have received particular attention, as they are ubiquitous and rapidly emitted upon damage. In this study, we investigated their effects under realistic conditions by applying specially devised dispensers to release four synthetic GLVs at physiologically relevant concentrations in a series of experiments in maize fields. We compared the VOC emission of GLV-exposed maize plants to non-exposed plants and monitored the attraction of herbivores and predators, as well as parasitism of the caterpillar Spodoptera frugiperda, the most common herbivore in the experimental maize fields. We found that maize plants that were exposed to GLVs emitted increased quantities of sesquiterpenes compared to non-exposed plants. In several replicates, herbivorous insects, such as adult Diabrotica beetles and S. frugiperda larvae, were observed more frequently in GLV-treated plots and caused more damage to GLV-exposed plants than to non-exposed plants. Parasitism of S. frugiperda was only weakly affected by GLVs and overall parasitism rates of S. frugiperda were similar in GLV-exposed and non-exposed plots. The effects on insect presence depended on the distance from the GLV-dispensers at which the plants were located. The results are discussed in the context of strategies to improve biological control by enhancing plant-mediated attraction of natural enemies. - PublicationAccès libreSequence of arrival determines plant-mediated interactions between herbivores(2011)
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1. Induced changes in plant quality can mediate indirect interactions between herbivores. Although the sequence of attack by different herbivores has been shown to influence plant responses, little is known about how this affects the herbivores themselves.
2. We therefore investigated how induction by the leaf herbivore Spodoptera frugiperda influences resistance of teosinte (Zea mays mexicana) and cultivated maize (Zea mays mays) against root-feeding larvae of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera. The importance of the sequence of arrival was tested in the field and laboratory.
3. Spodoptera frugiperda infestation had a significant negative effect on colonization by D. virgifera larvae in the field and weight gain in the laboratory, but only when S. frugiperda arrived on the plant before the root herbivore. When S. frugiperda arrived after the root herbivore had established, no negative effects on larval performance were detected. Yet, adult emergence of D. virgifera was reduced even when the root feeder had established first, indicating that the negative effects were not entirely absent in this treatment.
4. The defoliation of the plants was not a decisive factor for the negative effects on root herbivore development, as both minor and major leaf damage resulted in an increase in root resistance and the extent of biomass removal was not correlated with root-herbivore growth. We propose that leaf-herbivore-induced increases in feeding-deterrent and/or toxic secondary metabolites may account for the sequence-specific reduction in root-herbivore performance.
5. Synthesis. Our results demonstrate that the sequence of arrival can be an important determinant of plant-mediated interactions between insect herbivores in both wild and cultivated plants. Arriving early on a plant may be an important strategy of insects to avoid competition with other herbivores. To fully understand plant-mediated interactions between insect herbivores, the sequence of arrival should be taken into account. - PublicationAccès librePopulation genetic structure of two primary parasitoids of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera), Chelonus insularis and Campoletis sonorensis (Hymenoptera): to what extent is the host plant important?(2010)
; ; Franck, PierrePlant chemistry can strongly influence interactions between herbivores and their natural enemies, either by providing volatile compounds that serve as foraging cues for parasitoids or predators, or by affecting the quality of herbivores as hosts or prey. Through these effects plants may influence parasitoid population genetic structure. We tested for a possible specialization on specific crop plants in Chelonus insularis and Campoletis sonorensis, two primary parasitoids of the fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda. Throughout Mexico, S. frugiperda larvae were collected from their main host plants, maize and sorghum and parasitoids that emerged from the larvae were used for subsequent comparison by molecular analysis. Genetic variation at eight and 11 microsatellites were respectively assayed for C. insularis and C. sonorensis to examine isolation by distance, host plant and regional effects. Kinship analyses were also performed to assess female migration among host-plants. The analyses showed considerable within population variation and revealed a significant regional effect. No effect of host plant on population structure of either of the two parasitoid species was found. Isolation by distance was observed at the individual level, but not at the population level. Kinship analyses revealed significantly more genetically related—or kin—individuals on the same plant species than on different plant species, suggesting that locally, mothers preferentially stay on the same plant species. Although the standard population genetics parameters showed no effect of plant species on population structure, the kinship analyses revealed that mothers exhibit plant species fidelity, which may speed up divergence if adaptation were to occur. - PublicationAccès libreIdentification of seven species of hymenopteran parasitoids of Spodoptera frugiperda, using polymerase chain reaction amplification and restriction enzyme digestion(2008)
2 We attempted to survey the parasitoid fauna on S. frugiperda in maize and sorghum fields throughout Mexico. However, our efforts have been hampered by the incomplete development of parasitoid larvae emerging from collected Spodoptera caterpillars.
3 This problem was solved by developing a method to identify seven species of parasitic wasps using polymerase chain reaction amplification and restriction enzyme digestion. This enables the precise determination of the species of those parasitoid larvae that are usually not morphologically identifiable.