Abstract
Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is a major global pest of many crops, including maize (Zea mays). This insect is known to use host plant-derived volatile organic compounds to locate suitable hosts during both its adult and larval stages, yet the function of individual compounds remains mostly enigmatic. In this study, we use a combination of volatile profiling, electrophysiological assays, pair-wise choice behavioral assays, and chemical supplementation treatments to identify and assess specific compounds from maize that influence S. frugiperda host location. Our findings reveal that methyl salicylate and (E)-alpha-bergamotene are oviposition attractants for adult moths but do not impact larval behavior. While geranyl acetate can act as an oviposition attractant or repellent depending on the host volatile context and (E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene (DMNT) is an oviposition deterrent. These compounds can also be attractive to the larvae when applied to specific maize inbreds. These data show that S. frugiperda uses different plant volatile cues for host location in its adult and larval stage and that the background volatile context that specific volatiles are perceived in, alters their impact as behavioral cues.
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Acknowledgements
This work was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Agricultural Research Service Project Nos. 6036-11210-001-00D and 6036-22430-001-00D, and the USDA- National Institute of Food and Agriculture-Specialty Crop Research Initiative Grant 2018-51181-28419. The use of trade name, commercial product, or corporation in this publication is for the information and convenience of the reader and does not imply an official recommendation, endorsement, or approval by the USDA or the Agricultural Research Service for any product or service to the exclusion of others that may be suitable. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer. The authors declare no conflicts of interest with this study.
Funding
This work was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-Agricultural Research Service Project Nos. 6036-11210-001-00D to AKB, and 6036-22430-001-00D to JJB, and the USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture-Specialty Crop Research Initiative Grant 2018-51181-28419 to AKB.
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AKB conceived the project, and AKB and JJB designed and supervised the experiments. AKB performed the volatile collection and AKB and JJB the volatile analysis, JYC and JM performed the bioassays, SDW performed the electroantennograms, CCR performed the principal coordinate analysis and chi square tests, AKB wrote the manuscript with input from all authors.
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Yactayo-Chang, J.P., Mendoza, J., Willms, S.D. et al. Zea mays Volatiles that Influence Oviposition and Feeding Behaviors of Spodoptera frugiperda. J Chem Ecol 47, 799–809 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-021-01302-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-021-01302-w