alpha-farnesene and beta-ocimene

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are important cues for natural enemies to find their hosts. HIPVs are usually present as blends and the effects of combinations of individual components are less studied. Here, we investigated plant volatiles in a tritrophic system, comprising the parasitoid wasp Lytopylus rufipes Nees (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), the Oriental fruit moth Grapholita molesta (Busck) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), and Japanese pear, Pyrus pyrifolia 'Kosui', so as to elucidate the effects of single components and blends on wasp behaviors. Bioassays in a four-arm olfactometer, using either shoots or their isolated volatiles collected on adsorbent, revealed that female wasps preferred volatiles from host-infested shoots over those from intact shoots. Analyses identified (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate (H), linalool (L), (E)-β-ocimene (O), (E)-3,8-dimethyl-1,4,7-nonatriene (D), and (E,E)-α-farnesene (F). Among them, only F was induced by infestation with G. molesta. When tested singly, only O and D elicited positive responses by L. rufipes. Binary blends of HO and DF elicited a positive response, but that of HD elicited a negative one, even though D alone elicited a positive response. Remarkably, wasps did not prefer either the ODF or HL blends, but showed a highest positive response to a quinary blend (HLODF). These results show that synergism among volatiles released from host-infested plants is necessary for eliciting high behavioral responses in L. rufipes, enabling L. rufipes to find its host efficiently.

Topics: Acyclic Monoterpenes; Alkenes; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Female; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Herbivory; Host-Seeking Behavior; Moths; Plant Shoots; Pyrus; Sesquiterpenes; Volatile Organic Compounds; Wasps

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) act as direct defenses against herbivores and as indirect defenses by attracting herbivore enemies. However, the involvement of HIPVs in within-plant or plant-to-plant signaling is not fully clarified. Furthermore, in contrast to model plants, HIPV signaling roles in crops have hardly been reported. Here, we investigated HIPVs emitted from tea (Camellia sinensis) plants, an important crop used for beverages, and their involvement in tea plant-to-plant signaling. To ensure uniform and sufficient exposure to HIPVs, jasmonic acid combined with mechanical damage (JAMD) was used to simulate herbivore attacks. Metabonomics techniques based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were employed to determine metabolite changes in undamaged tea plants exposed to JAMD-stimulated volatiles. JAMD-stimulated volatiles mainly enhanced the amounts of 1-O-galloyl-6-O-luteoyl-α-d-glucose, assamicain C, 2,3,4,5-tetrahydroxy-6-oxohexyl gallate, quercetagitrin, 2-(2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-4-oxo-4H-chromen-8-yl)-4,5-dihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-yl, 3,4-dimethoxybenzoate, 1,3,4,5,6,7-hexahydroxyheptan-2-one, and methyl gallate in neighboring undamaged tea leaves. Furthermore, α-farnesene and β-ocimene, which were produced after JAMD treatments, were identified as two main JAMD-stimulated volatiles altering metabolite profiles of the neighboring undamaged tea leaves. This research advances our understanding of the ecological functions of HIPVs and can be used to develop crop biological control agents against pest insects in the future.

Topics: Acyclic Monoterpenes; Alkenes; Animals; Camellia sinensis; Cyclopentanes; Herbivory; Insecta; Oxylipins; Pest Control, Biological; Plant Growth Regulators; Sesquiterpenes; Signal Transduction; Volatile Organic Compounds

The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus Panzer 1797 (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is a cosmopolitan insect pest affecting poultry production. Due to its cryptic behavior, insecticide control is usually not efficient. Thus, sustainable and effective methods would have an enormous and positive impact in poultry production. The aim of this study was to confirm the identity of the male-produced aggregation pheromone for a Brazilian population of A. diaperinus and to evaluate its biological activity in behavioral assays. Six male-specific compounds were identified: (R)-limonene (1), (E)-ocimene (2), 2-nonanone (3), (S)-linalool (4), (R)-daucene (5), all described before in an American population, and a sixth component, (E,E)-α-farnesene (6), which is apparently exclusive to a Brazilian population. Y-Tube bioassays confirmed the presence of a male-produced aggregation pheromone and showed that all components need to be present in a similar ratio and concentration as emitted by male A. diaperinus to produce a positive chemotactic response.

Topics: Acyclic Monoterpenes; Alkenes; Animals; Behavior, Animal; Brazil; Bridged Bicyclo Compounds; Chemotaxis; Chromatography, Gas; Cyclohexenes; Female; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; Ketones; Limonene; Male; Monoterpenes; Olfactometry; Pheromones; Sesquiterpenes; Tenebrio; Terpenes; Volatile Organic Compounds

The rate constants for the gas-phase reactions of hydroxyl radicals and ozone with the biogenic hydrocarbons β-ocimene, β-myrcene, and α- and β-farnesene were measured using the relative rate technique over the temperature ranges 313-423 (for OH) and 298-318 K (for O₃) at about 1 atm total pressure. The OH radicals were generated by photolysis of H₂O₂, and O₃ was produced from the electrolysis of O₂. Helium was used as the diluent gas. The reactants were detected by online mass spectrometry, which resulted in high time resolution, allowing large amounts of data to be collected and used in the determination of the Arrhenius parameters. The following Arrhenius expressions have been determined for these reactions (in units of cm³ molecules⁻¹ s⁻¹): for β-ocimene + OH, k = (4.35(-0.66)(+0.78)) × 10⁻¹¹ exp[(579 ± 59)/T]; for β-ocimene + O₃, k = (3.15(-0.95)(+1.36)) × 10⁻¹⁵ exp[-(626 ± 110)/T]; for β-myrcene + O₃, k = (2.21(-0.66)(+0.94)) × 10⁻¹⁵ exp[-(520 ± 109)/T]; for α-farnesene + OH, k(OH) = (2.19 ± 0.11) × 10⁻¹⁰ for 23-413 K; for α-farnesene + O₃, k = (3.52(-2.54)(+9.09)) × 10⁻¹² exp[-(2589 ± 393)/T]; for β-farnesene + OH, k(OH) = (2.88 ± 0.15) × 10⁻¹⁰ for 323-423 K; for β-farnesene + O₃, k = (1.81(-1.19)(+3.46)) × 10⁻¹² exp[-(2347 ± 329)/T]. The Arrhenius parameters here are the first to be reported. The reactions of α- and β-farnesene with OH showed no significant temperature dependence. Atmospheric residence times due to reactions with OH and O₃ were also presented.

Topics: Acyclic Monoterpenes; Alkenes; Atmosphere; Gases; Hydroxyl Radical; Kinetics; Mass Spectrometry; Monoterpenes; Ozone; Sesquiterpenes; Temperature

Phenylacetonitrile, (E)-β-ocimene, linalool, (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene and (E,E)-α-farnesene were identified as Japanese beetle, Popillia japonica, feeding-induced volatiles from the leaves of the giant knotweed, Fallopia sachalinensis, but not by mechanical damage. Volatile emission was also induced by treatment with a cellular signaling molecule, methyl jasmonate. These results suggest that volatiles will be synthesized de novo by a biotic elicitor from P. japonica oral secretion.

Topics: Acetates; Acetonitriles; Acyclic Monoterpenes; Alkenes; Animals; Chromatography, Gas; Coleoptera; Cyclopentanes; Feeding Behavior; Insecticides; Mass Spectrometry; Monoterpenes; Oxylipins; Plant Immunity; Plant Leaves; Polygonum; Sesquiterpenes; Terpenes; Volatilization

When attacked by insects, plants release mixtures of volatile compounds that are beneficial for direct or indirect defense. Natural variation of volatile emissions frequently occurs between and within plant species, but knowledge of the underlying molecular mechanisms is limited. We investigated intraspecific differences of volatile emissions induced from rosette leaves of 27 accessions of Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) upon treatment with coronalon, a jasmonate mimic eliciting responses similar to those caused by insect feeding. Quantitative variation was found for the emission of the monoterpene (E)-beta-ocimene, the sesquiterpene (E,E)-alpha-farnesene, the irregular homoterpene 4,8,12-trimethyltridecatetra-1,3,7,11-ene, and the benzenoid compound methyl salicylate. Differences in the relative emissions of (E)-beta-ocimene and (E,E)-alpha-farnesene from accession Wassilewskija (Ws), a high-(E)-beta-ocimene emitter, and accession Columbia (Col-0), a trace-(E)-beta-ocimene emitter, were attributed to allelic variation of two closely related, tandem-duplicated terpene synthase genes, TPS02 and TPS03. The Ws genome contains a functional allele of TPS02 but not of TPS03, while the opposite is the case for Col-0. Recombinant proteins of the functional Ws TPS02 and Col-0 TPS03 genes both showed (E)-beta-ocimene and (E,E)-alpha-farnesene synthase activities. However, differential subcellular compartmentalization of the two enzymes in plastids and the cytosol was found to be responsible for the ecotype-specific differences in (E)-beta-ocimene/(E,E)-alpha-farnesene emission. Expression of the functional TPS02 and TPS03 alleles is induced in leaves by elicitor and insect treatment and occurs constitutively in floral tissues. Our studies show that both pseudogenization in the TPS family and subcellular segregation of functional TPS enzymes control the variation and plasticity of induced volatile emissions in wild plant species.

Topics: Acyclic Monoterpenes; Alkenes; Alkyl and Aryl Transferases; Alleles; Amino Acid Sequence; Animals; Arabidopsis; Arabidopsis Proteins; Base Sequence; Cytosol; Erythritol; Feeding Behavior; Gene Expression Profiling; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Insecta; Intramolecular Lyases; Metabolic Networks and Pathways; Mevalonic Acid; Molecular Sequence Data; Multienzyme Complexes; Plastids; Promoter Regions, Genetic; Protein Transport; Pyrophosphatases; Recombinant Proteins; Sesquiterpenes; Subcellular Fractions; Sugar Phosphates; Terpenes; Volatilization