Response of Lilioceris cheni to herbivore induced plant volatiles from Dioscorea bulbifera

Authors: GRIESHEIMER, JESSICA - University Of Florida; Gaffke, Alexander; MINTEER, CAREY - University Of Florida; Mass, John; HIGHT, STEPHEN - Retired ARS Employee; MARTINI, XAVIER - University Of Florida

Submitted to: Arthropod-Plant Interactions
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 12/5/2024
Publication Date: 12/16/2024
Citation: Griesheimer, J.L., Gaffke, A.M., Minteer, C., Mass, J.L., Hight, S., Martini, X. 2024. Response of Lilioceris cheni to herbivore induced plant volatiles from Dioscorea bulbifera. Arthropod-Plant Interactions. 19.Article 13. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-024-10123-z.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-024-10123-z

Interpretive Summary: Air potato is a non-native invasive vine that displaces native plant species throughout the southeastern United States. The air potato leaf beetle, which can only feed on air potato, was introduced to help control this plant. As the air potato beetle has been very successful at controlling the plant, researchers are striving to understand the basis of this success. This information could improve other biocontrol programs. Scientists from the USDA-ARS Insect Behavior and Biocontrol Research Unit in Tallahassee, FL in collaboration with researchers from the University of Florida investigated the plant's response to insect feeding. It was found that the beetles prefer to feed on damaged plants and that volatiles from damaged plants contained chemicals not found in undamaged plants. Thus beetles feeding on the air potato plant, inadvertently cause the plant to release a range of volatile chemicals that call in more air potato beetles to the emitting plants, which in turn results in more damage to the invasive plant. The information gathered during this study could be used to develop strategies to improve the biological control program of the air potato plant by creation of attractive lures to decrease the use of herbicidal sprays and mechanical removal in ecologically sensitive areas.

Technical Abstract: Dioscorea bulbifera L., air potato, is an invasive vine with infestations in the southeastern United States, Hawai’i, and Puerto Rico that is native to Asia and Africa. A host specific biological control agent, Lilioceris cheni (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) was introduced in 2011 to control D. bulbifera. Recently, a new biological control agent, Lilioceris egena, has been released to continue the control of D. bulbifera. In this study, attraction of L. cheni to herbivore damage odor cues from a generalist, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctiudae), and newly released specialist were investigated. The first experiment investigated the response of L. cheni to conspecific, L. egena, and S. frugiperda herbivore damaged plants. Liloceris cheni showed preference for herbivore damaged plants compared to undamaged plants and did discriminate between conspecific damaged plants in the presence of generalist damaged plants, favoring conspecific damaged plants. The second experiment investigated volatile profiles of differently damaged D. bulbifera plants using gas chromatography coupled with mass spectroscopy. We found significant differences between both the specialists’ herbivore damage compared to the generalist volatile profiles. The volatile profiles indicated 11 volatiles were induced and 4 were suppressed due to herbivore damage. The information gathered during this study could be used to develop strategies to improve the biological control program of D. bulbifera by creation of attractive lures to decrease the use of herbicidal sprays and mechanical removal in ecologically sensitive areas.