Periodic Reporting for period 3 - VOLARE (Scentsitive nature: Green leaf volatile perception in plants and insects)
Okres sprawozdawczy: 2022-02-01 do 2023-07-31
The key objectives of the VOLARE project are 1) to mutate plant- and insect-derived hexenal isomerases to understand the role of this enzyme for plant-insect interactions, 2) to identify the molecular mechanisms of E-2-hexenal perception in plants, and 3) to create plants and insects that cannot perceive E-2-hexenal to investigate the role of this volatile in the plant's self-recognition and its role as a signaling molecule for interactions with herbivorous insects and pathogens.
This interdisciplinary research project intends to uncover the perception mechanism of key plant volatile signals and the roles these play in the (eco)physiology of plants and insects. The outcome of this project will greatly expand the fundamental and applied research domain of plant-herbivore interactions as it allows us to perform an in-depth analysis of the biological functions and potential benefits of volatile signaling for improving agro-ecosystems.
Since not only plants but also insects possess an enzyme that catalyzes the formation of the plant-derived volatile E-2-hexenal, we have created caterpillars of the tobacco hornworm which are unable to produce this enzyme. This means that, when these mutant caterpillars feed on their host plant, they do not initiate the production of increased levels of E-2-hexenal anymore. We are currently investigating whether the mutant caterpillar has a physiological disadvantage if it does not possess the volatile-converting enzyme and how this mutation affects the interaction between plants and insects.