title: Generalist insects behave in a jasmonate-dependent manner on their host plants, leaving induced areas quickly and staying longer on distant parts.
abstract: Plants are sessile, so have evolved sensitive ways to detect attacking herbivores and sophisticated strategies to effectively defend themselves. Insect herbivory induces synthesis of the phytohormone jasmonic acid which activates downstream metabolic pathways for various chemical defences such as toxins and digestion inhibitors. Insects are also sophisticated animals, and many have coevolved physiological adaptations that negate this induced plant defence. Insect behaviour has rarely been studied in the context of induced plant defence, although behavioural adaptation to induced plant chemistry may allow insects to bypass the host's defence system. By visualizing jasmonate-responsive gene expression within whole plants, we uncovered spatial and temporal limits to the systemic spread of plant chemical defence following herbivory. By carefully tracking insect movement, we found induced changes in plant chemistry were detected by generalist Helicoverpa armigera insects which then modified their behaviour in response, moving away from induced parts and staying longer on uninduced parts of the same plant. This study reveals that there are plant-wide signals rapidly generated following herbivory that allow insects to detect the heterogeneity of plant chemical defences. Some insects use these signals to move around the plant, avoiding localized sites of induction and staying ahead of induced toxic metabolites.
authors: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. l.perkins@uq.edu.au
authors: Lynda E
authors: LE
authors: Perkins
authors: Bronwen W
authors: BW
authors: Cribb
authors: Philip B
authors: PB
authors: Brewer
authors: Jim
authors: J
authors: Hanan
authors: Murray
authors: M
authors: Grant
authors: Marta
authors: M
authors: de Torres
authors: Myron P
authors: MP
authors: Zalucki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D001483:Base Sequence; D051778:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D003517:Cyclopentanes / Q000378:metabolism*; D018506:Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; D060434:Herbivory; D007313:Insecta / Q000502:physiology; D007915:Lepidoptera / Q000502:physiology*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009036:Moths / Q000502:physiology*; D054883:Oxylipins / Q000378:metabolism*; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000502:physiology; D030821:Plants, Genetically Modified; D012097:Repressor Proteins / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D029681:Arabidopsis Proteins; D051778:Basic Helix-Loop-Helix Leucine Zipper Transcription Factors; D003517:Cyclopentanes; C554741:JAZ1 protein, Arabidopsis; C473611:MYC2 protein, Arabidopsis; D054883:Oxylipins; D012097:Repressor Proteins; C011006:jasmonic acid
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