1
|
Liljesthröm GG, Rabinovich JE. Biological control of the stink bug Nezara viridula (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) by two parasitoids and their interaction in non-crop habitats: a simulation model. Bull Entomol Res 2023; 113:315-325. [PMID: 36539340 DOI: 10.1017/s0007485322000591] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Non-cultivated areas are resting, overwintering, feeding, and/or reproducing habitats for insects, and also places from where crop areas are colonized; thus, they are essential for understanding the biological control programs in agroecosystems. We developed a simulation model for a non-cultivated area of Buenos Aires province (Argentina), and we analyzed the control of Nezara viridula achieved by the action of two parasitoids: the oophagous Trissolcus basalis and the tachinid Trichopoda giacomellii, which attack older nymphs and adults. The model is a discrete time, deterministic, phenomenological, spatially homogeneous with a 1-week time interval simulation model, based on the age-structure and/or stage-structure of N. viridula and its two parasitoids. The host-parasitoid interactions were combined with a degree-day model affecting development times of T. giacomellii pupae and T. basalis pre-imaginal stages. The simultaneous attack of both parasitoid species enables the persistence of the system at low host densities, mediated by the functional response of the parasitoids, identified as population regulation factors. However, if only one parasitoid exists (i.e., only T. basalis or only T. giacomellii) the interaction N. viridula-parasitoid persisted but at higher density of N. viridula. These results explain the successful biological control of N. viridula after the introduction of T. basalis in the 1980s, when T. giacomellii was the only parasitoid present, unable to control N. viridula. Our model shows an indirect competition when both parasitoids are present: the attack of one of them diminished the potential number of hosts available to the other parasitoid species. In the field this interaction is obscured by the hibernation period which acted as a reset mechanism affecting the density and age/stage structure of all three populations. Our model was supported by field observations, and never exhibited the extinction of any of the parasitoids from the interaction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- G G Liljesthröm
- Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (CEPAVE) (CONICET - UNLP), Boulevard 120 s/n entre 60 y 64 (1900), B1902CHX La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - J E Rabinovich
- Centro de Estudios Parasitológicos y de Vectores (CEPAVE) (CONICET - UNLP), Boulevard 120 s/n entre 60 y 64 (1900), B1902CHX La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Cusumano A, Peri E, Alınç T, Colazza S. Contrasting reproductive traits of competing parasitoids facilitate coexistence on a shared host pest in a biological control perspective. Pest Manag Sci 2022; 78:3376-3383. [PMID: 35513347 PMCID: PMC9541709 DOI: 10.1002/ps.6965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Interspecific competition in insect parasitoids is an important ecological phenomenon that has relevant implications for biological pest control. To date, interspecific intrinsic (=larval) competition has been intensively studied, while investigations on extrinsic (=adult) competition have often lagged behind. In this study we examined the role played by parasitoid reproductive traits and host clutch size on the outcome of extrinsic competition between Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) and Ooencyrtus telenomicida (Vassiliev), two egg parasitoids of the pest Nezara viridula (L). Laboratory experiments were conducted by allowing both parasitoid species to exploit an egg mass made of 10, 20, 30, or 40 hosts through single or simultaneous releases. Furthermore, under field conditions, egg masses consisting of 10 or 40 hosts were exposed in a tomato crop in order to validate laboratory investigation. RESULTS The results show that the egg mass size is an important predictor of extrinsic competition in our study system as a higher proportion of T. basalis emerged from large egg masses, while O. telenomicida dominated in small egg masses. Analysis of reproductive traits of parasitoid species indicates that T. basalis has superior abilities in host exploitation compared with O. telenomicida. CONCLUSIONS We found that contrasting reproductive traits of two competing egg parasitoid species facilitate coexistence on a shared stink bug host. This work also highlights the importance to consider extrinsic competitive interactions between parasitoid species in a biological control perspective. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antonino Cusumano
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest SciencesUniversity of Palermo Viale delle ScienzePalermoItaly
- Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro‐Environmental Technology (BAT Center)University of Napoli Federico IIPorticiItaly
| | - Ezio Peri
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest SciencesUniversity of Palermo Viale delle ScienzePalermoItaly
- Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro‐Environmental Technology (BAT Center)University of Napoli Federico IIPorticiItaly
| | - Tuğcan Alınç
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest SciencesUniversity of Palermo Viale delle ScienzePalermoItaly
| | - Stefano Colazza
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest SciencesUniversity of Palermo Viale delle ScienzePalermoItaly
- Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro‐Environmental Technology (BAT Center)University of Napoli Federico IIPorticiItaly
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Cusumano A, Bella P, Peri E, Rostás M, Guarino S, Lievens B, Colazza S. Nectar-Inhabiting Bacteria Affect Olfactory Responses of an Insect Parasitoid by Altering Nectar Odors. Microb Ecol 2022:10.1007/s00248-022-02078-6. [PMID: 35913610 DOI: 10.1007/s00248-022-02078-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Floral nectar is ubiquitously colonized by a variety of microorganisms among which yeasts and bacteria are the most common. Microorganisms inhabiting floral nectar can alter several nectar traits, including nectar odor by producing microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs). Evidence showing that mVOCs can affect the foraging behavior of insect pollinators is increasing in the literature, whereas the role of mVOCs in altering the foraging behavior of third-trophic level organisms such as insect parasitoids is largely overlooked. Parasitoids are frequent visitors of flowers and are well known to feed on nectar. In this study, we isolated bacteria inhabiting floral nectar of buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum (Polygonales: Polygonaceae), to test the hypothesis that nectar bacteria affect the foraging behavior of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) via changes in odors of nectar. In behavioral assays, we found that T. basalis wasps are attracted toward nectar fermented by 4 out of the 14 bacterial strains isolated, which belong to Staphylococcus epidermidis, Terrabacillus saccharophilus (both Firmicutes), Pantoea sp. (Proteobacteria), and Curtobacterium sp. (Actinobacteria). Results of chemical investigations revealed significant differences in the volatile blend composition of nectars fermented by the bacterial isolates. Our results indicate that nectar-inhabiting bacteria play an important role in the interactions between flowering plants and foraging parasitoids. These results are also relevant from an applied perspective as flowering resources, such as buckwheat, are largely used in agriculture to promote conservation biological control of insect pests.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antonino Cusumano
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo Viale delle Scienze, Building 5, 90128, Palermo, Italy
- Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology (BATCenter), University of Napoli Federico II, 80055, Portici, Italy
| | - Patrizia Bella
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo Viale delle Scienze, Building 5, 90128, Palermo, Italy
- Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology (BATCenter), University of Napoli Federico II, 80055, Portici, Italy
| | - Ezio Peri
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo Viale delle Scienze, Building 5, 90128, Palermo, Italy.
- Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology (BATCenter), University of Napoli Federico II, 80055, Portici, Italy.
| | - Michael Rostás
- Agricultural Entomology, Department of Crop Sciences, University of Göttingen, Grisebachstr. 6, 37077, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Salvatore Guarino
- Institute of Biosciences and Bioresources (IBBR), National Research Council of Italy (CNR), Corso Calatafimi 414, 90129, Palermo, Italy
| | - Bart Lievens
- Laboratory for Process Microbial Ecology and Bioinspirational Management (PME&BIM), Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems, Willem De Croylaan 46, Leuven, KU, 3001, Belgium
- Leuven Plant Institute (LPI), Leuven, KU, 3001, Belgium
| | - Stefano Colazza
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo Viale delle Scienze, Building 5, 90128, Palermo, Italy
- Interuniversity Center for Studies on Bioinspired Agro-Environmental Technology (BATCenter), University of Napoli Federico II, 80055, Portici, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Mesterton-Gibbons M, Cusumano A, Hardy ICW. Escaping the evolutionary trap: Can size-related contest advantage compensate for juvenile mortality disadvantage when parasitoids develop in unnatural invasive hosts? J Theor Biol 2021; 527:110821. [PMID: 34214568 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtbi.2021.110821] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2020] [Revised: 06/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The quality of hosts for a parasitoid wasp may be influenced by attributes such as host size or species, with high quality for successful development usually coincident with high quality for larger offspring. This is not always the case: for the Scelionid wasp Trissolcus basalis, oviposition in eggs of the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Halyomorpha halys, rather than of the normal host, the Southern Green Stink Bug, Nezara viridula, leads to lower offspring survival, but survivors can be unusually large. Adult female T. basalis engage in contests for host access. As larger contestants are typically favoured in contests between parasitoids, the larger size of surviving offspring may compensate for the mortality of others. We construct a general game-theoretic model to explore whether size advantage can sustain a maternal preference to utilize a more deadly host species. We find that size advantage alone is unlikely to sustain a shift in host preference, yet such an outcome is possible when size asymmetries act simultaneously with advantages in host possession (ownership effect). Halyomorpha halys is an invasive pest of major agro-economic importance in Europe and the Americas, and use of its eggs as hosts by native parasitoids such as T. basalis has been seen as an evolutionary trap due to their high developmental mortality. Our model suggests that the recently discovered effect of host choice on offspring size may provide an escape from the trap via effects on contest biology of T. basalis which could foster a more stable association with H. halys. An evolutionary shift in the reproductive value of H. halys could increase the efficiency of T. basalis as a biological control agent of this invasive stink bug pest.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mike Mesterton-Gibbons
- Department of Mathematics, Florida State University, 1017 Academic Way, Tallahassee, Florida 32306-4510, USA.
| | - Antonino Cusumano
- Department of Agricultural, Food And Forest Sciences (SAAF), University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
| | - Ian C W Hardy
- Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, P.O. Box 27 (Latokartanonkaari 5), FI-00014, Finland.
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Salerno G, Frati F, Conti E, Peri E, Colazza S, Cusumano A. Mating Status of an Herbivorous Stink Bug Female Affects the Emission of Oviposition-Induced Plant Volatiles Exploited by an Egg Parasitoid. Front Physiol 2019; 10:398. [PMID: 31031636 PMCID: PMC6473057 DOI: 10.3389/fphys.2019.00398] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Accepted: 03/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect parasitoids are under selection pressure to optimize their host location strategy in order to maximize fitness. In parasitoid species that develop on host eggs, one of these strategies consists in the exploitation of oviposition-induced plant volatiles (OIPVs), specific blends of volatile organic compounds released by plants in response to egg deposition by herbivorous insects. Plants can recognize insect oviposition via elicitors that trigger OIPVs, but very few elicitors have been characterized so far. In particular, the source and the nature of the elicitor responsible of egg parasitoid recruitment in the case of plants induced with oviposition by stink bugs are still unknown. In this paper, we conducted behavioral and molecular investigations to localize the source of the elicitor that attracts egg parasitoids and elucidate the role of host mating in elicitation of plant responses. We used as organism study model a tritrophic system consisting of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis, the stink bug host Nezara viridula and the plant Vicia faba. We found that egg parasitoid attraction to plant volatiles is triggered by extracts coming from the dilated portion of the stink bug spermathecal complex. However, attraction only occurs if extracts are obtained from mated females but not from virgin ones. Egg parasitoid attraction was not observed when extracts coming from the accessory glands (mesadene and ectadene) of male hosts were applied, either alone or in combination to plants. SDS-PAGE electrophoresis correlated with olfactometer observations as the protein profile of the dilated portion of the spermathecal complex was affected by the stink bug mating status suggesting post-copulatory physiological changes in this reproductive structure. This study contributed to better understanding the host location process by egg parasitoids and laid the basis for the chemical characterization of the elicitor responsible for OIPV emission.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gianandrea Salerno
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Francesca Frati
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Eric Conti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari ed Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Ezio Peri
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Universitá degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Stefano Colazza
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Universitá degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Antonino Cusumano
- UMR 1333 DGIMI, INRA, Université de Montpellier, Montpellier, France
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Frati F, Cusumano A, Conti E, Colazza S, Peri E, Guarino S, Martorana L, Romani R, Salerno G. Foraging behaviour of an egg parasitoid exploiting plant volatiles induced by pentatomids: the role of adaxial and abaxial leaf surfaces. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3326. [PMID: 28533974 PMCID: PMC5437855 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Several phases of herbivorous insect attack including feeding and oviposition are known to induce plant defenses. Plants emit volatiles induced by herbivores to recruit insect parasitoids as an indirect defense strategy. So far, volatiles induced by herbivore walking and their putative role in the foraging behavior of egg parasitoids have not been investigated. In this paper we studied the response of the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis toward volatiles emitted by Vicia faba plants as consequence of the walking activity of the host Nezara viridula. Olfactometer bioassays were carried out to evaluate wasp responses to plants in which the abaxial or the adaxial surfaces were subjected to walking or/and oviposition. Results showed that host female walking on the abaxial but not on the adaxial surface caused a repellence effect in T. basalis 24 h after plant treatment. The emission of active volatiles also occurred when the leaf was turned upside-down, indicating a specificity of stress localization. This specificity was supported by the results, which showed that oviposition combined with feeding elicit the induction of plant volatiles, attracting the parasitoid, when the attack occurred on the abaxial surface. Analyses of plant volatile blends showed significant differences between the treatments.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Frati
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Antonino Cusumano
- Department of Entomology, Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | - Eric Conti
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Stefano Colazza
- Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Ezio Peri
- Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Salvatore Guarino
- Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Letizia Martorana
- Department of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy
| | - Roberto Romani
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Gianandrea Salerno
- Department of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Sciences, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Martorana L, Foti MC, Rondoni G, Conti E, Colazza S, Peri E. An invasive insect herbivore disrupts plant volatile-mediated tritrophic signalling. J Pest Sci (2004) 2017; 90:1079-1085. [PMID: 28824353 PMCID: PMC5544816 DOI: 10.1007/s10340-017-0877-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2017] [Revised: 04/15/2017] [Accepted: 04/26/2017] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Plants respond to insect attack by emission of volatile organic compounds, which recruit natural enemies of the attacking herbivore, constituting an indirect plant defence strategy. In this context, the egg parasitoid Trissolcus basalis is attracted by oviposition-induced plant volatiles emitted by Vicia faba plants as a consequence of feeding and oviposition by the pentatomid host Nezara viridula. However, this local tritrophic web could be affected by the recent invasion by the alien pentatomid bug Halyomorpha halys, an herbivore that shares the same environments as native pentatomid pests. Therefore, we investigated in laboratory conditions the possible impact of H. halys on the plant volatile-mediated signalling in the local tritrophic web V. faba-N. viridula-T. basalis. We found that T. basalis wasps were not attracted by volatiles induced in the plants by feeding and oviposition activities of H. halys, indicating specificity in the wasps' response. However, the parasitoid attraction towards plant volatiles emitted as a consequence of feeding and oviposition by the associated host was disrupted when host, N. viridula, and non-associated host, H. halys, were concurrently present on the same plant, indicating that invasion by the alien herbivore interferes with established semiochemical webs. These outcomes are discussed in a context of multiple herbivory by evaluating the possible influences of alien insects on local parasitoid foraging behaviour.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Letizia Martorana
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Maria Cristina Foti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Gabriele Rondoni
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy
| | - Eric Conti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Borgo XX Giugno 74, 06121 Perugia, Italy
| | - Stefano Colazza
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Ezio Peri
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Cusumano A, Peri E, Boivin G, Colazza S. Fitness costs of intrinsic competition in two egg parasitoids of a true bug. J Insect Physiol 2015; 81:52-59. [PMID: 26149765 DOI: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2015.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2015] [Revised: 06/28/2015] [Accepted: 07/02/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Intrinsic competition in insect parasitoids occurs when supernumerary larvae develop in the same host as consequence of multiple ovipositions by females of the same species (intra-specific competition) or by females of different species (inter-specific competition). Studies on intrinsic competition have mainly focused on understanding the factors that play a role in the outcome of competition, while fitness-related effects for the parasitoid surviving the competition have been poorly investigated, especially in egg parasitoids. Interestingly, even the winning parasitoid can experience fitness costs due to larval development in a host in which multiple factors have been injected by the ovipositing females or released by their larvae. In this paper we studied fitness-related traits associated with intra- and inter-specific competition between Trissolcus basalis (Wollaston) and Ooencyrtus telenomicida (Vassiliev), the main egg parasitoids associated with the southern green stink bug Nezara viridula (L.) in Italy. We investigated the impact of intrinsic competition for the surviving parasitoid in terms of body size, developmental time, number and size of oocytes. Our results indicated that T. basalis adults did not experience fitness-related costs when surviving intra-specific competition; however, adults were smaller, took longer to develop and females produced fewer oocytes after surviving inter-specific competition. A different outcome was found for O. telenomicida where the emerging females were smaller, produced fewer and smaller oocytes when suffering intra-specific competition whereas no fitness costs were found when adults survived inter-specific competition. These results support the hypothesis that the impact of intrinsic competition in egg parasitoids depends on the severity of the competitive interaction, as fitness costs were more pronounced when the surviving parasitoid interacted with the most detrimental competitor.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Antonino Cusumano
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze edificio 5, 90128 Palermo, Italy.
| | - Ezio Peri
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze edificio 5, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| | - Guy Boivin
- Horticultural Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, 430 Boul. Gouin, St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec J3B 3E6, Canada
| | - Stefano Colazza
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze edificio 5, 90128 Palermo, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Moujahed R, Frati F, Cusumano A, Salerno G, Conti E, Peri E, Colazza S. Egg parasitoid attraction toward induced plant volatiles is disrupted by a non-host herbivore attacking above or belowground plant organs. Front Plant Sci 2014; 5:601. [PMID: 25414714 PMCID: PMC4220641 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2014.00601] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2014] [Accepted: 10/15/2014] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Plants respond to insect oviposition by emission of oviposition-induced plant volatiles (OIPVs) which can recruit egg parasitoids of the attacking herbivore. To date, studies demonstrating egg parasitoid attraction to OIPVs have been carried out in tritrophic systems consisting of one species each of plant, herbivore host, and the associated egg parasitoid. Less attention has been given to plants experiencing multiple attacks by host and non-host herbivores that potentially could interfere with the recruitment of egg parasitoids as a result of modifications to the OIPV blend. Egg parasitoid attraction could also be influenced by the temporal dynamics of multiple infestations, when the same non-host herbivore damages different organs of the same plant species. In this scenario we investigated the responses of egg parasitoids to feeding and oviposition damage using a model system consisting of Vicia faba, the above-ground insect herbivore Nezara viridula, the above- and below-ground insect herbivore Sitona lineatus, and Trissolcus basalis, a natural enemy of N. viridula. We demonstrated that the non-host S. lineatus disrupts wasp attraction toward plant volatiles induced by the host N. viridula. Interestingly, V. faba damage inflicted by either adults (i.e., leaf-feeding) or larvae (i.e., root-feeding) of S. lineatus, had a similar disruptive effect on T. basalis host location, suggesting that a common interference mechanism might be involved. Neither naïve wasps or wasps with previous oviposition experience were attracted to plant volatiles induced by N. viridula when V. faba plants were concurrently infested with S. lineatus adults or larvae. Analysis of the volatile blends among healthy plants and above-ground treatments show significant differences in terms of whole volatile emissions. Our results demonstrate that induced plant responses caused by a non-host herbivore can disrupt the attraction of an egg parasitoid to a plant that is also infested with its hosts.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Rihem Moujahed
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di PalermoPalermo, Italy
| | - Francesca Frati
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di PerugiaPerugia, Italy
| | - Antonino Cusumano
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di PalermoPalermo, Italy
| | - Gianandrea Salerno
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di PerugiaPerugia, Italy
| | - Eric Conti
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie, Alimentari e Ambientali, Università degli Studi di PerugiaPerugia, Italy
| | - Ezio Peri
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di PalermoPalermo, Italy
| | - Stefano Colazza
- Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di PalermoPalermo, Italy
- *Correspondence: Stefano Colazza, Dipartimento di Scienze Agrarie e Forestali, Università degli Studi di Palermo, Viale delle Scienze edificio 5, 90128 Palermo, Italy e-mail:
| |
Collapse
|