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ARS Home » Plains Area » Manhattan, Kansas » Center for Grain and Animal Health Research » Hard Winter Wheat Genetics Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #355343
Title: 12-Oxo-Phytodienoic Acid enhances wheat resistance to Hessian fly (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) under heat stress

Author
item CHENG, GE - Fayetteville State University
item Chen, Ming-Shun
item ZHU, LIECENG - Fayetteville State University

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/14/2017
Publication Date: 4/2/2018
Citation: Cheng, G., Chen, M., Zhu, L. 2018. 12-Oxo-Phytodienoic Acid enhances wheat resistance to Hessian fly (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) under heat stress. Journal of Economic Entomology. 111(2):917-922. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/tox374.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/tox374

Interpretive Summary: Hessian fly is an important insect pest of wheat that causes thinning of seedling stands and lodging of mature wheat plants. Genetic resistance is one of the best strategies to control Hessian fly. Unfortunately, many genes for resistance fail when subjected to warm temperatures in the field. High concentrations of a naturally occurring chemical called OPDA were applied to plants and shown to help maintain resistance under high temperature conditions. This work opens the possibility of breeding wheat plants with resistance to Hessian fly that is more resilient under heat stress.

Technical Abstract: 12-Oxo-phytodienoic acid (OPDA) plays unique roles in plant defenses against biotic and abiotic stresses. In the current study, we infested two resistant wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars, ‘Molly’ and ‘Iris’, with an avirulent Hessian fly population and determined the impact of exogenous OPDA application on wheat resistance to the insect under heat stress. We observed that Molly and Iris treated with OPDA solution prior to the heat treatment exhibited significantly enhanced insect resistance. We also measured OPDA concentrations at Hessian fly feeding sites in Molly infested with Hessian flies. We found that exogenous application of OPDA resulted in increased abundance of endogenous OPDA in Molly seedlings and that OPDA abundance in plants treated with the combination of heat and OPDA was similar to that of plants in the incompatible interaction. Our results suggest that high abundance of endogenous OPDA may be necessary for wheat under heat stress to resist to Hessian fly infestation.