Electrical signalling on Bt and non-Bt cotton plants under stress by Aphis gossypii

Author(s)

Pachu, Jessica K. S. ^[1] ; Macedo, Francynes C. O. ^[2] ; Malaquias, Jose B. ^[3] ; Ramalho, Francisco S. ^[4] ; Oliveira, Ricardo F. ^[2] ; Franco, Flavia Pereira ^[1] ; Godoy, Wesley A. C. ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr ESALQ, Dept Entomol & Acarol, Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Luiz de Queiroz Coll Agr ESALQ, Dept Biol Sci, Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

^[3] Sao Paulo State Univ UNESP, Dept Biostat, Botucatu, SP - Brazil

^[4] Embrapa Algodao, Biol Control Unit, Campina Grande, Paraiba - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PLoS One; v. 16, n. 4 APR 8 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Plants have developed various mechanisms to respond specifically to each biotrophic attack. It has been shown that the electrical signals emitted by plants are associated with herbivory stress responses and can lead to the activation of multiple defences. Bt cotton is a genetically modified pest-resistant plant that produces an insecticide from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) to control Lepidopteran species. Surprisingly, there is no study-yet, that characterizes the signalling mechanisms in transgenic cotton plants attacked by non-target insects, such as aphids. In this study, we characterized the production of electrical signals on Bt and non-Bt cotton plants infested with Aphis gossypii and, in addition, we characterized the dispersal behaviour of aphids to correlate this behaviour to plant signalling responses. Electrical signalling of the plants was recorded with an extracellular measurement technique. Impressively, our results showed that both Bt and non-Bt cotton varieties, when attacked by A. gossypii, emitted potential variation-type electrical signals and clearly showed the presence of distinct responses regarding their perception and the behaviour of aphids, with evidence of delay, in terms of signal amount, and almost twice the amount of Cry1F protein was observed on Bt cotton plants at the highest density of insects/plant. We present in our article some hypotheses that are based on plant physiology and insect behaviour to explain the responses found on Bt cotton plants under aphid stress. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 15/20380-8 - Ecological modelling of the larval dispersion of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) on Bt cotton: implications for evolution and resistance management
• Grantee: José Bruno Malaquias
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 17/21097-3 - Bee-agriculture interactions: perspectives to sustainable use
• Grantee: Osmar Malaspina
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 17/05953-7 - Ecological Modeling of the Resistance Evolution of Spodoptera frugiperda on Bt Cotton Mediated by Seed Contamination and Temperature Increasing
• Grantee: José Bruno Malaquias
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 14/16609-7 - A multi - and interdisciplinary approach to understand spatio-temporal patterns of insect pests and design landscapes for sustainable pest management in tropical agricultural systems
• Grantee: Wesley Augusto Conde Godoy
• Support Opportunities: Research Projects - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 18/20435-5 - Modeling with game theory of behavioral / adaptive strategies of Spodoptera frugiperda and Helicoverpa armigera in Bt crops with spatio-temporal co-occurrence
• Grantee: José Bruno Malaquias
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral