Plants attract parasitic wasps to defend themselves against insect pests by releasing hexenol.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Plant volatiles play an important role in defending plants against insect attacks by attracting their natural enemies. For example, green leaf volatiles (GLVs) and terpenoids emitted from herbivore-damaged plants were found to be important in the host location of parasitic wasps. However, evidence of the functional roles and mechanisms of these semio-chemicals from a system of multiple plants in prey location by the parasitoid is limited. Little is known about the potential evolutionary trends between herbivore-induced host plant volatiles and the host location of their parasitoids.

Methodology/principal findings

The present study includes hierarchical cluster analyses of plant volatile profiles from seven families of host and non-host plants of pea leafminer, Lir

SUBMITTER: Wei J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1955833 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature