4.6 Article

Orius laevigatus strengthens its role as a biological control agent by inducing plant defenses

Journal

JOURNAL OF PEST SCIENCE
Volume 91, Issue 1, Pages 55-64

Publisher

SPRINGER HEIDELBERG
DOI: 10.1007/s10340-017-0886-4

Keywords

Minute pirate bug; Behavior; Plant response; Herbivore-induced plant volatiles; Sweet pepper

Categories

Funding

  1. Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness [AGL2014-55616-C3]
  2. Conselleria d'Agricultura, Pesca i Alimentacio de la Generalitat Valenciana
  3. MEC (Juan de la Cierva program) [FPDI-2013-17968]
  4. Russell IPM Ltd.

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Orius laevigatus is a generalist predator that is widely used in augmentative strategies against the key pest of sweet pepper, Frankliniella occidentalis. Despite being a zoophytophagous predator, the phytophagous behavior of O. laevigatus has not been previously explored in depth nor has the impact of phytophagy on plant physiology. Here, the hierarchical significance of O. laevigatus feeding on sweet pepper is compared with other behaviors. O. laevigatus spends the majority of its time (38%) feeding on apical meristems and apical fresh leaves, which were also preferred residence locations. Here, the phytophagous feeding behavior of O. laevigatus on sweet pepper is shown to trigger defensive responses in the plant. These O. laevigatus plant-induced defenses are then shown to contribute to the repellence or attraction of pests or natural enemies, respectively. Specifically, O. laevigatus-punctured sweet pepper plants induce repellency for the whitefly Bemisia tabaci and the thrips species F. occidentalis. In contrast, the whitefly parasitoid Encarsia formosa was significantly attracted to O. laevigatus-punctured plants. The plant responses to O. laevigatus punctures include the release of an altered blend of volatiles and activation of the jasmonic acid and salicylic acid signalling pathways. These results highlight an interesting facet to the biology of O. laevigatus, in which the ability of the predator to induce defensive responses in sweet pepper plants may serve to improve the biological control of both thrips and whiteflies.

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