Effects of induced plant defenses: the role of chemical elicitors on herbivore and disease reduction

• Grant number: 15/15894-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2015
• End date: October 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology - Applied Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Mônica Frank Kersch Becker
• Grantee: Thaís Silveira Schweller
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Herbivory and subsequent induced plant responses have the potential to affect the composition and structure of insect communities associated with plants. Herbivores can modify the morphological and chemical traits of plants, affecting plants' quality to subsequent herbivores. However, chemical and morphological responses are specific to the type of damage. For example, plants damaged by sap-sucking herbivores induce distinct responses from those induced by chewing herbivores. Therefore, plant induced responses to insects and pathogens have been perceived as a potential tool in crop protection management, as its effects are relatively benign to the environment. For this reason, there is a growing interest in developing chemical products that can activate plants' natural defenses increasing resistance to both insects and pathogens. However, our knowledge about the impact of chemical elicitors (jasmonic and salicylic acid) on plants' inducible defenses and herbivory reduction is still rudimentary. Thus, to effectively use chemical elicitors to induce plant resistance as potential crop protection is necessary to carry out studies with pest species in the field and in the laboratory. By using manipulative field and laboratory experiments, the aim of this study is to evaluate the responses of herbivores and natural enemies to morphological and chemical changes of plants induced by chemical elicitors. We purpose to test the hypothesis that induced plant defenses will modify the consumption and abundance of herbivores. This research will evaluate the potential role of chemical elicitors (jasmonic and salicylic acid) on integrated pest management.