Systemic above- and belowground cross talk: hormone-based responses triggered by Heterodera schachtii and shoot herbivores in Arabidopsis thaliana.
Above- and belowground plant parts are simultaneously attacked by different pests and pathogens. The host mediates these interactions and physiologically reacts, e.g. with local and systemic alterations of endogenous hormone levels coupled with coordinated transcriptional changes. This in turn affects attractiveness and susceptibility of the plant to subsequent attackers. Here, the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana is used to study stress hormone-based systemic responses triggered by simultaneous root parasitism by the cyst nematode Heterodera schachtii and shoot herbivory by the thrips Frankliniella occidentalis and the spider mite Tetranychus urticae. First, HPLC/MS and quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR are used to show that nematode parasitism strongly affects stress hormone levels and expression of hormone marker genes in shoots. Previous nematode infection is then demonstrated to affect the behavioural and life history performance of both arthropods. While thrips explicitly avoid nematode-infected plants, spider mites prefer them. In addition, the life history performance of T. urticae is significantly enhanced by nematode infection. Finally, systemic changes triggered by shoot-feeding F. occidentalis but not T. urticae are shown to make the roots more attractive for H. schachtii. This work emphasises the importance of above- and belowground signalling and contributes to a better understanding of plant systemic defence mechanisms against plant-parasitic nematodes.
Division of Plant Protection, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, UFT Tulln, Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria.
Nina
N
Kammerhofer
Division of Plant Protection, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, UFT Tulln, Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria.
Barbara
B
Egger
Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojová 263, 165 02 Prague 6 - Lysolaje, Czech Republic.
Petre
P
Dobrev
Institute of Experimental Botany, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Rozvojová 263, 165 02 Prague 6 - Lysolaje, Czech Republic.
Radomira
R
Vankova
Division of Plant Protection, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, UFT Tulln, Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria.
Julia
J
Hofmann
Group of Arthropod Ecology and Behavior, Division of Plant Protection, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Peter-Jordan-Str. 82, 1190 Vienna, Austria.
Peter
P
Schausberger
Division of Plant Protection, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, UFT Tulln, Konrad-Lorenz-Str. 24, 3430 Tulln, Austria krzysztof.wieczorek@boku.ac.at.
Krzysztof
K
Wieczorek
D000818:Animals; D017360:Arabidopsis / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology*; D002450:Cell Communication; D060434:Herbivory; D059828:Plant Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators / Q000502:physiology*; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D018520:Plant Shoots / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology; D040102:Tetranychidae / Q000502:physiology; D061149:Thysanoptera / Q000502:physiology; D014431:Tylenchoidea / Q000502:physiology
D010937:Plant Growth Regulators
Aboveground–belowground interactions; Frankliniella occidentalis; Heterodera schachtii; Tetranychus urticae.; herbivores; phytohormones; plant-parasitic nematodes; systemic responses