Plant Volatiles and Herbivore Induced Plant Volatiles from Chili Pepper Act as Attractant of the Aphid Parasitoid Aphelinus varipes (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae)

Plants have evolved a number of different chemical defenses, covering nearly all classes of (secondary) metabolites, that represent a major barrier to herbivory: some are constitutive; others are induced after attacks from herbivores (HIPVs) and may elicit the attraction of predators and parasitoids. Here, we studied how the female solitary endoparasitoid Aphelinus varipes responds to plant and host aphid volatiles in a series of experiments on five commercially important vegetables that were either healthy or infested with the aphid Myzus persicae: chili pepper, eggplant, crown daisy, Chinese cabbage and cabbage. The results for the olfactory responses of A. varipes showed that the presence of M. persicae increased the attraction of the endoparasitoid to the infested plants. In a second experiment, volatiles from highly attractive and repellent plants were obtained via headspace collection to investigate volatiles from healthy and aphid-damaged plants. The results for the differences in volatile profiles in response to aphid infestation in chili pepper cultivar were dominated by the volatile blends, including alpha-pinene, decanal and phthalic acid, while in cabbage they were dominated by isophorone. Moreover, when HIPVs with different concentrations were compared, alpha-pinene at a dose rate of 100 ng/mu L attracted more parasitoids, and the comparison was useful to understand the mechanisms of plant secondary volatiles during aphid infestation and to provide new resources to control this insect pest. Overall our study shows how HIPVs can bolster tritrophic interactions by enhancing the attractiveness of parasitoids.

Automated summary

Plants have developed various chemical defenses to resist herbivores. This study focuses on how a parasitoid wasp, Aphelinus varipes, responds to plant volatiles after aphid infestation. The results show that the presence of aphids increases the attraction of the parasitoid. Different volatile profiles were found in chili pepper and cabbage cultivars after aphid infestation, and alpha-pinene was found to be a highly attractive volatile for the parasitoid. This study demonstrates the role of herbivore-induced plant volatiles in enhancing tritrophic interactions.