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Published on February 15, 2008; 10.1104/pp.107.112326

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Received November 2, 2007
Accepted February 7, 2008

Influence of Green Leaf Herbivory by Manduca sexta on Floral Volatile Emission by Nicotiana suaveolens

Uta Effmert *, Claudia Dinse , and Birgit Piechulla

Institute of Biological Sciences, Biochemistry, University of Rostock, Albert-Einstein-Str. 3, 18059 Rostock, Germany

* Corresponding author; email: uta.effmert{at}uni-rostock.de.

Plants have to cope with various abiotic and biotic impacts as a consequence of changing environments, which can impair their ability to sexually reproduce. The main objective of this study was to investigate whether green leaf herbivory, having one of the most hazardous biotic impacts, would have any direct effect on the production and emission of floral volatiles since volatiles are known to play a crucial role in pollination. Nicotiana suaveolens plants were challenged with Manduca sexta feeding on leaves, and alterations in the quality and quantity of the floral blend, shifts in emission patterns, and changes in expression patterns of the floral benzoic/salicylic acid carboxyl-methyltransferase (BSMT) were monitored in non-infested and infested plants. Leaves responded to larval feeding by herbivory-induced diurnal emission of semiochemicals, while the emission of floral volatiles remained unchanged in comparison to the non-infested control. Neither the volatile composition nor the quantity of components or the nocturnal emission patterns were altered. The mRNA and protein levels of the BSMT as well as its enzyme activity also did not show any significant differences. These results indicate that metabolism in flowers at and post anthesis is an autonomous process and is independent of metabolic changes in green leaves. By this sustaining mechanism, N. suaveolens plants ensure sexual reproduction even under unfavourable conditions.




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N. Theis, K. Kesler, and L. S. Adler
Leaf herbivory increases floral fragrance in male but not female Cucurbita pepo subsp. texana (Cucurbitaceae) flowers
Am. J. Botany, May 1, 2009; 96(5): 897 - 903.
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