Vermicompost Amendments Disrupt Feeding Behavior of <i>Diaphorina citri</i> Kuwayama and Boost Activities of Salicylic Acid and Jasmonic Acid Pathway-Related Enzymes in Citrus
Tonglai Tao,
Zhaohong Wang,
Runqian Mao,
Mubasher Hussain,
Steven P. Arthurs,
Fengxian Ye,
Xincheng An,
Jing Gao
Affiliations
Tonglai Tao
School of Life Sciences, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510631, China
Zhaohong Wang
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Engineering Research Center for Mineral Oil Pesticides, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
Runqian Mao
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Engineering Research Center for Mineral Oil Pesticides, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
Mubasher Hussain
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Engineering Research Center for Mineral Oil Pesticides, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
Steven P. Arthurs
Biobee USA, Altamonte Springs, FL 32714, USA
Fengxian Ye
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Engineering Research Center for Mineral Oil Pesticides, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
Xincheng An
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Engineering Research Center for Mineral Oil Pesticides, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
Jing Gao
Guangdong Key Laboratory of Animal Conservation and Resource Utilization, Guangdong Public Laboratory of Wild Animal Conservation and Utilization, Guangdong Engineering Research Center for Mineral Oil Pesticides, Institute of Zoology, Guangdong Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510260, China
Plants grown with vermicompost amendments are known to be harmful to sap-sucking insects, but the underlying mechanism remains to be determined. Here we investigated the feeding behavior of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama on Citrus limon (L.) Burm. F using the electrical penetration graph technique. Plants were grown in soil with different vermicompost rates (0%, 20%, 40%, and 60% w/w). Additionally, plants were tested for the activity of salicylic acid (SA) and jasmonic acid (JA) pathway-related enzymes. When compared to the control, vermicompost treatments (40% and 60%) decreased duration of phloem sap feeding and increased duration of the pathway phase of D. citri, and the 60% vermicompost made it more difficult for D. citri to reach and gain access to phloem sap. Enzymatic assays indicated that the 40% amendment rate increased phenylalanine ammonia lyase (involved in the SA pathway) and polyphenol oxidase (involved in the JA pathway), while the 60% amendment rate increased -1,3-glucanases (involved in the SA pathway) and lipoxygenase (involved in the JA pathway). The 20% amendment rate had no effect on feeding or enzyme activities. This study revealed that vermicompost amendments can reduce the efficiency of D. citri feeding, which may result from increased plant resistance via the SA and JA pathway.
