| Abstract: | Abstract In response to herbivory by cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) larvae, crucifer plants emit green leaf volatiles (GLVs) that attract Cotesia glomerata, a carnivorous natural enemy of the larvae. To artificially increase GLV production by crucifers, we created transgenic Arabidopsis that constitutively expressed cucumber cytosolic lipoxygenase (CsLOX2). Transgenic Arabidopsis (p35S::CsLOX2.6 and p35S::CsLOX2.14) infested with P. rapae larvae were more attractive to C. glomerata than wild type (wt) and produced more jasmonic acid. p35S::CsLOX2.14 had a higher incidence of parasitism of the larvae than did wt. Infested transgenic plants emitted more (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (E)-β-ocimene, (Z)-β-ocimene, and DMNT than infested wt plants; (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate is known to attract Cotesia wasps. Transforming cruciferous crops with cytosolic CsLOX2 could aid integrated pest management via tritrophic interactions. |
