A strawberry accession with elevated methyl anthranilate fruit concentration is naturally resistant to the pest fly Drosophila suzukii.

ABSTRACT: During the past decade, Drosophila suzukii has established itself as a global invasive fruit pest, enabled by its ability to lay eggs into fresh, ripening fruit. In a previous study, we investigated the impact of different strawberry accessions on the development of D. suzukii eggs, in the search of natural resistance. We identified several accessions that significantly reduced adult fly emergence from infested fruit. In the present study, we aimed at understanding the chemical basis of this effect. We first noted that one of the more resistant accessions showed an unusual enrichment of methyl anthranilate within its fruit, prompting us to investigate this fruit compound as a possible cause limiting fly development. We found that methyl anthranilate alone triggers embryo lethality in a con

SUBMITTER: Bracker LB 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7266294 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature