Insect Herbivory on Main Stem Enhances Induced Defense of Primary Tillers in Rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.)
Lu Tong,
Wanghui Wu,
Yibin Lin,
Daoqian Chen,
Rensen Zeng,
Long Lu,
Yuanyuan Song
Affiliations
Lu Tong
State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Wanghui Wu
State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Yibin Lin
State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Daoqian Chen
State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Rensen Zeng
State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Long Lu
State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Yuanyuan Song
State Key Laboratory of Ecological Pest Control for Fujian and Taiwan Crops, Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Genetics, Breeding and Multiple Utilization of Crops, College of Agriculture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China
Clonal plants are interconnected to form clonal plant networks with physiological integration, enabling the reassignment as well as sharing of resources among the members. The systemic induction of antiherbivore resistance via clonal integration may frequently operate in the networks. Here, we used an important food crop rice (Oryza sativa), and its destructive pest rice leaffolder (LF; Cnaphalocrocis medinalis) as a model to examine defense communication between the main stem and clonal tillers. LF infestation and MeJA pretreatment on the main stem for two days reduced the weight gain of LF larvae fed on the corresponding primary tillers by 44.5% and 29.0%, respectively. LF infestation and MeJA pretreatment on the main stem also enhanced antiherbivore defense responses in primary tillers: increased levels of a trypsin protease inhibitor, putative defensive enzymes, and jasmonic acid (JA), a key signaling compound involved in antiherbivore induced defenses; strong induction of genes encoding JA biosynthesis and perception; and rapid activation of JA pathway. However, in a JA perception OsCOI RNAi line, LF infestation on main stem showed no or minor effects on antiherbivore defense responses in primary tillers. Our work demonstrates that systemic antiherbivore defense operate in the clonal network of rice plants and JA signaling plays a crucial role in mediating defense communication between main stem and tillers in rice plants. Our findings provide a theoretical basis for the ecological control of pests by using the systemic resistance of cloned plants themselves.