ARS | Publication request: Attack and Counter-Attack: Induced Resistance and Susceptibility in response of Wheat to the Hessian Fly

Submitted to: Plant and Animal Genome Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: October 15, 2008
Publication Date: January 9, 2009
Citation: Williams, C.E. 2009. Attack and Counter-Attack: Induced Resistance and Susceptibility in Response of Wheat to the Hessian Fly. Plant and Animal Genome Conference. Available: http://www.intl-pag.org/17/abstracts/W52_PAGXVII_360.html

Technical Abstract: The intimate interactions between wheat and Hessian fly larvae are triggered by salivary secretions applied within a few hours of egg hatch. The gene-for-gene recognition event elicited in resistant plants induces a remarkably energy-efficient response, preventing larvae from acquiring life-sustaining nutrients. Larval stress genes become induced and they exhibit behaviors that are never observed in larvae that are able to induce plant susceptibility. In contrast, virulent larvae hijack the physiology of the susceptible host wheat plant, silencing some genes and stimulating others to promote the formation of gall-like nutritive tissue and to set up a nutrient-delivery system. Within a few hours of egg hatch, virulent larvae are able to establish permanent feeding sites and rapidly increase in size. In this talk, videos of larval behavior will be presented along with photos of changes in plant and insect ultrastructure, plus linked underlying modifications in transcriptome, metabolome and proteome composition.