Abstract
UV-radiation (UV-A and UV-B) can affect the behaviour of herbivorous insects either directly or indirectly through plantinsect interactions. Short-wavelength radiation is perceived by plants through specific receptors which results particularly in the biosynthesis of secondary plant metabolites. Known induced substances are mainly flavonoids which primarily act as sunscreens, but also have the potential to influence the development of herbivorous insects. This study investigated the development of the cabbage aphid (Brevicoryne brassicae, Hemiptera: Aphididae) and the diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella, Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) on UV-exposed broccoli plants (Brassica oleracea, Brassicales: Brassicaceae). Constant low-intensity UV-radiation emitted by UV-lamps in the greenhouse increased the developmental time of both insect species. On UV-exposed plants P. xylostella reached lower pupa weights, while B. brassicae showed higher adult weights, but significantly reduced fecundity compared to aphids on plants isolated from UV-radiation. In outdoor experiments the global UV-radiation was manipulated in small greenhouses equipped with plastic-films of different UV-absorbing properties. The reduction of ambient UV-radiation by UV-absorbing plastic-films resulted in increased pupa weight of P. xylostella and fecundity of B. brassicae.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bidart-Bouzat MG & Kliebenstein D, 2011. An ecological genomic approach challenging the paradigm of differential plant responses to specialist versus generalist insect herbivores. Oecologia 167, 677–689.
Caputo C, Rutitzky M & Ballare CL, 2006. Solar ultraviolet-B radiation alters the attractiveness of Arabidopsis plants to diamondback moths (Plutella xylostella L.): impacts on oviposition and involvement of the jasmonic acid pathway. Oecologia 149, 81–90.
Christie JM, 2007. Phototropin Blue-Light Receptors. Annu Rev Plant Biol 58, 21–45.
Christie JM, Arvai AS, Baxter KJ, Heilmann M, Pratt AJ, O’Hara A, Kelly SM, Hothorn M, Smith BO, Hitomi K, Jenkins GI & Getzoff ED, 2012. Plant UVR8 photoreceptor senses UV-B by tryptophan-mediated disruption of crossdimer salt bridges. Science 335, 1492–1496.
Chyzik R, Dobrinin S & Antignus Y, 2003. Effect of a UVdeficient environment on the biology and flight activity of Myzus persicae and its hymenopterous parasite Aphidius matricariae. Phytoparasitica 31, 467–477.
Comont D, Abaigar JM, Albert A, Aphalo P, Causton DR, Figueroa FL, Gaberscik A, Llorens L, Hauser MT, Jansen M, Kardefelt M, Luque PD, Neubert S, Nunez-Olivera E, Olsen J, Robson M, Schreiner M, Sommaruga R, Strid A, Torre S, Turunen M, Veljovic-Jovanovic S, Verdaguer D, Vidovic M, Wagner J, Winkler JB, Zipoli G & Gwynn-Jones D, 2012. UV responses of Lolium perenne raised along a latitudinal gradient across Europe: a filtration study. Physiol Plantarum 145, 604–618.
Demkura PV, Abdala G, Baldwin IT & Ballare CL, 2010. Jasmonate-dependent and -independent pathways mediate specific effects of solar ultraviolet B radiation on leaf phenolics and antiherbivore defense. Plant Physiol 152, 1084–1095.
Diffey BL, 2002. What is light? Photodermatol Photo 18, 68–74.
Foggo A, Higgins S, Wargent JJ & Coleman RA, 2007. Tri-trophic consequences of UV-B exposure: plants, herbivores and parasitoids. Oecologia 154, 505–512.
Gabrys B & Tjallingii WF, 2002. The role of sinigrin in host plant recognition by aphids during initial plant penetration. Entomol Exp Appl 104, 89–93.
Gulidov S & Poehling HM, 2013. Control of aphids and whiteflies on Brussels sprouts by means of UV-absorbing plastic films. J Plant Dis Protect 120, 122–130.
Harborne JB & Williams CA, 2000. Advances in flavonoid research since 1992. Phytochem 55, 481–504.
Izaguirre MM, Mazza CA, Svatos A, Baldwin IT & Ballare CL, 2007. Solar ultraviolet-B radiation and insect herbivory trigger partially overlapping phenolic responses in Nicotiana attenuata and Nicotiana longiflora. Ann Bot 99, 103–109.
Jenkins GI, 2009. Signal Transduction in Responses to UV-B Radiation. Ann Rev Plant Biol 60, 407–431.
Krizek DT, Mirecki RM & Britz SJ, 1997. Inhibitory effects of ambient levels of solar UV-A and UV-B radiation on growth of cucumber. Physiol Plantarum 100, 886–893.
Kuhlmann F & Müller C, 2009. Development-dependent effects of UV radiation exposure on broccoli plants and interactions with herbivorous insects. Environ Exp Bot 66, 61–68.
Kuhlmann F & Müller C, 2010. UV-B impact on aphid performance mediated by plant quality and plant changes induced by aphids. Plant Biol 12, 676–684.
Kuhlmann F & Müller C, 2011. Impacts of ultraviolet radiation on interactions between plants and herbivorous insects: A chemo-ecological perspective. Prog Bot 72, 305–347.
Kumar P & Poehling HM, 2006. UV-blocking plastic films and nets influence vectors and virus transmission on greenhouse tomatoes in the humid tropics. Environ Entomol 35, 1069–1082.
Lindroth RL, Hofmann RW, Campbell BD, McNabb WC & Hunt DY, 2000. Population differences in Trifolium repens L-response to ultraviolet-B radiation: foliar chemistry and consequences for two lepidopteran herbivores. Oecologia 122, 20–28.
McCloud ES & Berenbaum M, 1999. Effects of enhanced UV-B radiation on a weedy forb (Plantago lanceolata) and its interactions with a generalist and specialist herbivore. Entomol Exp Appl 93, 233–247.
Mewis I, Schreiner M, Nguyen CN, Krumbein A, Ulrichs C, Lohse M & Zrenner R, 2012. UV-B irradiation changes specifically the secondary metabolite profile in broccoli sprouts: Induced signaling overlaps with defense response to biotic stressors. Plant Cell Physiol 53, 1546–1560.
Paul ND & Gwynn-Jones D, 2003. Ecological roles of solar UV radiation: towards an integrated approach. Trends Ecol Evol 18, 48–55.
Paul ND, Moore JP, McPherson M, Lambourne C, Croft P, Heaton JC & Wargent JJ, 2012. Ecological responses to UV radiation: interactions between the biological effects of UV on plants and on associated organisms. Physiol Plantarum 145, 565–581.
Pinheiro J, Bates D, DebRoy S, Sarkar S & the R Development Core Team, 2012. nlme: Linear and nonlinear mixed effects models. R package version 3.1-106.
R Development Core Team, 2008. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna & Austria. ISBN 3-900051-07-0, URL http://www.R-project.org.
Renwick JAA, Haribal M, Gouinguene S & Stadler E, 2006. Isothiocyanates stimulating oviposition by the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella. J Chem Ecol 32, 755–766.
Schreiner M, Mewis I, Huyskens-Keil S, Jansen, MAK, Zrenner R, Winkler JB, O’Brien N & Krumbein A, 2012. UV-B-induced secondary plant metabolites — Potential benefits for plant and human health. Crit Rev Plant Sci 31, 229–240.
Simmonds MS, 2001. Importance of flavonoids in insectplant interactions: feeding and oviposition. Phytochemistry 56, 245–252.
Soler R, Badenes-Perez FR, Broekgaarden C, Zheng SJ, David A, Boland W & Dicke M, 2012. Plant-mediated facilitation between a leaf-feeding and a phloem-feeding insect in a brassicaceous plant: from insect performance to gene transcription. Funct Ecol 26, 156–166.
Terry M, Therneau T & Grambsch PM, 2000. Modeling Survival Data: Extending the Cox Model. Springer, New York. ISBN 0-387-98784-3.
War AR, Paulraj MG, Hussain B, Buhroo AA, Ignacimuthu S & Sharma HC, 2013. Effect of plant secondary metabolites on legume pod borer, Helicoverpa armigera. J Pest Sci 86, 399–408.
Wickham H, 2009. ggplot2: elegant graphics for data analysis. Springer, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rechner, O., Poehling, HM. UV exposure induces resistance against herbivorous insects in broccoli. J Plant Dis Prot 121, 125–132 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03356500
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03356500