Open AccessEliciting maize defense pathways aboveground attracts belowground biocontrol agents
Author(s) -
Camila C. Filgueiras,
Denis S. Willett,
Ramom Vasconcelos Pereira,
Alcides Moino,
Martín Pareja,
Larry W. Duncan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
scientific reports
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.24
H-Index - 213
ISSN - 2045-2322
DOI - 10.1038/srep36484
Subject(s) - herbivore , biology , biological pest control , plant defense against herbivory , defence mechanisms , larva , nematode , ecology , gene , biochemistry
Plant defense pathways mediate multitrophic interactions above and belowground. Understanding the effects of these pathways on pests and natural enemies above and belowground holds great potential for designing effective control strategies. Here we investigate the effects of aboveground stimulation of plant defense pathways on the interactions between corn, the aboveground herbivore adult Diabrotica speciosa , the belowground herbivore larval D. speciosa , and the subterranean ento-mopathogenic nematode natural enemy Heterorhabditis amazonensis . We show that adult D. speciosa recruit to aboveground herbivory and methyl salicylate treatment, that larval D. speciosa are relatively indiscriminate, and that H. amazonensis en-tomopathogenic nematodes recruit to corn fed upon by adult D. speciosa . These results suggest that entomopathogenicnematodes belowground can be highly attuned to changes in the aboveground parts of plants and that biological control can be enhanced with induced plant defense in this and similar systems.