Evaluation of environmental factors on the metabolic profile of Gossypium hirsutum L., resistant (FMT-701) and susceptible (DeltaOpal), and its relation with detoxification mechanisms promoted by microorganisms associated to insect pests

• Grant number: 18/00340-0
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• Duration: March 01, 2018 - February 29, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry
• Principal researcher: Moacir Rossi Forim
• Grantee: Moacir Rossi Forim
• Home Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Plants have developed various defense strategies against herbivory such as responses of constitutive and induced defenses, that represents the biosynthesis of phytotoxic molecules present, or produced under attack, respectively. In their turn, the insects have been seeking expertise to overcome the plant defense mechanisms allowing the continued practice of herbivory. One hypothesis is that insects have developed associations with beneficial microorganisms where these symbionts promote the detoxification of potentially-toxic plant molecules. At the same time, we have observed a pattern among herbivory of certain plant families, or null, in other vegetal species. Previous studies have demonstrated a pattern between herbivory, or not, and the inhibitory activity of plant's extracts against gastrointestinal microorganisms isolated from insects showing evidence that these microorganisms not only to promote detoxification of phytotoxic molecules, but also may define the type of plant to be consumed. Thus, natural product molecules may promote a breaking in the symbiosis insect-microorganisms leading to loss of insect's defense capability against phytotoxins of specific crops, and/or, at the same time, to show a new mechanism of action for the development of new insecticides. Therefore, this project aims to develop chemical ecology studies, evaluating the relationship between the chemical profile of cotton plants, with resistance induction systems previously activated, herbivory and microorganisms associated with gastrointestinal tract of Spodoptera eridania for the development of new proposals to insect pest control. For the success of the proposal will be conducted studies evaluating the chemical profile of volatiles, and non-volatiles compounds, by chromatographic techniques (GC×GC-MS/MS and UPLC-qTOF MS, respectively) of cotton plants previously subjected to biotic and abiotic stresses in comparison with behavioral data of S. eridania and its microbial profile when subjected to various treatments. Moreover, phytochemical studies are going to be conducted to evaluate the efficacy of botanical extracts from the cerrado and secondary metabolites to promote the breaking of the symbiosis between insect and microorganism that may result in the loss of the insect's ability to protect itself against plant defense systems. (AU)