title: Stage-Related Defense Response Induction in Tomato Plants by Nesidiocoris tenuis.
abstract: The beneficial effects of direct predation by zoophytophagous biological control agents (BCAs), such as the mirid bug Nesidiocoris tenuis, are well-known. However, the benefits of zoophytophagous BCAs' relation with host plants, via induction of plant defensive responses, have not been investigated until recently. To date, only the females of certain zoophytophagous BCAs have been demonstrated to induce defensive plant responses in tomato plants. The aim of this work was to determine whether nymphs, adult females, and adult males of N. tenuis are able to induce defense responses in tomato plants. Compared to undamaged tomato plants (i.e., not exposed to the mirid), plants on which young or mature nymphs, or adult males or females of N. tenuis fed and developed were less attractive to the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, but were more attractive to the parasitoid Encarsia formosa. Female-exposed plants were more repellent to B. tabaci and more attractive to E. formosa than were male-exposed plants. When comparing young- and mature-nymph-exposed plants, the same level of repellence was obtained for B. tabaci, but mature-nymph-exposed plants were more attractive to E. formosa. The repellent effect is attributed to the signaling pathway of abscisic acid, which is upregulated in N. tenuis-exposed plants, whereas the parasitoid attraction was attributed to the activation of the jasmonic acid signaling pathway. Our results demonstrate that all motile stages of N. tenuis can trigger defensive responses in tomato plants, although these responses may be slightly different depending on the stage considered.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy. marionaselli13@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Naselli
authors.affiliation: Unidad Asociada de Entomolog&#237;a UJI-IVIA, Centro de Protecci&#243;n Vegetal y Biotecnolog&#237;a, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), Carretera de Moncada-N&#225;quera Km. 4.5, Moncada, 46113 Valencia, Spain. aurbaneja@ivia.es.
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Urbaneja
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy. gsiscaro@unict.it.
authors.forename: Gaetano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Siscaro
authors.affiliation: Unitat Associada d'Entomologia UJI-IVIA, Departament de Ci&#232;ncies Agr&#224;ries i del Medi Natural, Universitat Jaume I, UJI, Campus del Riu Sec, 12071 Castell&#243; de la Plana, Spain. josep.jaques@uji.es.
authors.forename: Josep A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Jaques
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Agricoltura, Alimentazione e Ambiente (Di3A), University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 100, 95123 Catania, Italy. lzappala@unict.it.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zappalà
authors.affiliation: Unitat Associada d'Entomologia UJI-IVIA, Departament de Ci&#232;ncies Agr&#224;ries i del Medi Natural, Universitat Jaume I, UJI, Campus del Riu Sec, 12071 Castell&#243; de la Plana, Spain. flors@uji.es.
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Flors
authors.affiliation: Unidad Asociada de Entomolog&#237;a UJI-IVIA, Centro de Protecci&#243;n Vegetal y Biotecnolog&#237;a, Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA), Carretera de Moncada-N&#225;quera Km. 4.5, Moncada, 46113 Valencia, Spain. meritxell_p@hotmail.com.|Unitat Associada d'Entomologia UJI-IVIA, Departament de Ci&#232;ncies Agr&#224;ries i del Medi Natural, Universitat Jaume I, UJI, Campus del Riu Sec, 12071 Castell&#243; de la Plana, Spain. meritxell_p@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Meritxell
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pérez-Hedo
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002853:Chromatography, Liquid; D005260:Female; D006430:Hemiptera / Q000254:growth & development / Q000469:parasitology*; D020062:Heteroptera / Q000502:physiology*; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions / Q000276:immunology*; D018551:Solanum lycopersicum / Q000254:growth & development / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D008297:Male; D013058:Mass Spectrometry; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000276:immunology* / Q000469:parasitology; D010937:Plant Growth Regulators; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction
chemical_list: D010937:Plant Growth Regulators
keywords: Bemisia tabaci; Encarsia formosa; indirect defense; induced plant response; phytohormones; tomato