Activation of the Phenylpropanoid Pathway in Nicotiana tabacum Improves the Performance of the Whitefly Bemisia tabaci via Reduced Jasmonate Signaling
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND Phloem-feeding insects can manipulate plant-induced resistance and are able to suppress effective jasmonic acid/ethylene (JA/ET) defenses by the induction of inefficient salicylic acid (SA) based responses. As a result, activation of the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway in transgenic plants is anticipated to cause complex interactions between phloem-feeding insects and their host plants due to predicted contradiction between two defense forces: the toxicity of various phenylpropanoids and the accumulation of SA via a branch of the activated pathway. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Here, we investigated the effect of activating the phenylpropanoids pathway in Nicotiana tabacum, by over-expression of the PAP1 transcription factor, on the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, a phloem-feeding insect model. Our performance assays indicated that the over-expression made the transgenic plants a more suitable host for B. tabaci than wild-type (WT) plants, although these plants accumulated significantly higher levels of flavonoids. Transcription analyses of indicator genes in the SA (PR1a) and JA/ET (ERF1, COI1 and AOC) pathways followed by quantification of the SA and JA hormone levels, indicated that B. tabaci infestation periods longer than 8 hours, caused higher levels of activity of SA signaling in transgenic plants and higher levels of JA/ET signaling in WT plants. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE Taken together, these results emphasize the important role JA/ET-induced defenses play in protecting plants from successful infestation by B. tabaci and likely other phloem-feeding insects. It also indicates the necessity of phloem feeders to suppress these defenses for efficient utilization of plant hosts. Our data also indicate that the defensive chemistry produced by the phenylpropanoids pathway has only a minor effect on the insect fitness.
منابع مشابه
RNAi-mediated mortality of the whitefly through transgenic expression of double-stranded RNA homologous to acetylcholinesterase and ecdysone receptor in tobacco plants
The whitefly Bemisia tabaci (Genn.) is a pest and vector of plant viruses to crop and ornamental plants worldwide. Using RNA interference (RNAi) to down regulate whitefly genes by expressing their homologous double stranded RNAs in plants has great potential for management of whiteflies to reduce plant virus disease spread. Using a Tobacco rattle virus-derived plasmid for in planta transient ex...
متن کاملRNA Interference based Approach to Down Regulate Osmoregulators of Whitefly (Bemisia tabaci): Potential Technology for the Control of Whitefly
Over the past decade RNA interference (RNAi) technology has emerged as a successful tool not only for functional genomics, but in planta expression of short interfering RNAs (siRNAs) that could offer great potential for insect pest management. The diet of insects feeding exclusively on phloem sieves contains water and sugars as main components, and the uptake of the liquid food greatly depends ...
متن کاملBensulfuron-Methyl Treatment of Soil Affects the Infestation of Whitefly, Aphid, and Tobacco Mosaic Virus on Nicotiana tabacum
Bensulfuron-methyl (BSM) is widely used in paddy soil for weed control. BSM residue in the soil has been known to inhibit the growth of sensitive crop plants. However, it is unknown whether BSM residue can affect the agrosystem in general. In this study, we have found significant effects of BSM on the infestation of Bemisia tabaci, Myzus persicae, and Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) in Nicotiana tab...
متن کاملECOLOGY AND BEHAVIOUR Bemisia tabaci (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) Biotypes in India
Host plant performance, esterase, and virus transmission tests revealed cassava-strain and sweetpotato-strain populations of whiteßy Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) biotypes in India. Individuals from the sweetpotato-reared population did not breed on cassava, Manihot esculenta Crantz, and the cassava-strain-reared individuals failed to develop on sweetpotato, Ipomoea batatus (L.) Lam. Eggplant, Sol...
متن کامل