TY - JOUR
T1 - Silicon-Mediated Enhancement of Herbivore Resistance in Agricultural Crops
AU - Acevedo, Flor E.
AU - Peiffer, Michelle
AU - Ray, Swayamjit
AU - Tan, Ching Wen
AU - Felton, Gary W.
N1 - Funding Information:
We greatly appreciate the financial support provided by the following funding agencies: The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NE-SARE) program (grant number GNE15-093 awarded to FA and GF), the United States Department of Agriculture AFRI program (2017-67013-26596 awarded to GF), and the hatch Project Grants PEN04576 and PEN04757 (accession No.1024573).
Funding Information:
We thank Ju-Che Lo and Dean Taylor for their assistance with greenhouse work and tissue grinding. We thank Julie Anderson from the Penn State Materials Research Institute for her guidance and assistance with the EDS and SEM techniques. We also thank Scott DiLoreto for glasshouse management. Special thanks to Dr. W. P. Williams for supplying the TX601 maize seeds, and to Dr. Dawn Luthe for use of the qPCR machine and plant tissue grinder. Many thanks to the three reviewers that helped improve the quality and presentation of the manuscript. Funding. We greatly appreciate the financial support provided by the following funding agencies: The Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (NE-SARE) program (grant number GNE15-093 awarded to FA and GF), the United States Department of Agriculture AFRI program (2017-67013-26596 awarded to GF), and the hatch Project Grants PEN04576 and PEN04757 (accession No.1024573).
Publisher Copyright:
© Copyright © 2021 Acevedo, Peiffer, Ray, Tan and Felton.
PY - 2021/2/11
Y1 - 2021/2/11
N2 - Silicon (Si) is a beneficial mineral that enhances plant protection against abiotic and biotic stresses, including insect herbivores. Si increases mechanical and biochemical defenses in a variety of plant species. However, the use of Si in agriculture remains poorly adopted despite its widely documented benefits in plant health. In this study, we tested the effect of Si supplementation on the induction of plant resistance against a chewing herbivore in crops with differential ability to accumulate this element. Our model system comprised the generalist herbivore fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda and three economically important plant species with differential ability to uptake silicon: tomato (non-Si accumulator), soybean, and maize (Si-accumulators). We investigated the effects of Si supply and insect herbivory on the induction of physical and biochemical plant defenses, and herbivore growth using potted plants in greenhouse conditions. Herbivory and Si supply increased peroxidase (POX) activity and trichome density in tomato, and the concentration of phenolics in soybean. Si supplementation increased leaf Si concentration in all plants. Previous herbivory affected FAW larval weight gain in all plants tested, and the Si treatment further reduced weight gain of larvae fed on Si accumulator plants. Notably, our results strongly suggest that non-glandular trichomes are important reservoirs of Si in maize and may increase plant resistance to chewing herbivores. We conclude that Si offers transient resistance to FAW in soybean, and a more lasting resistance in maize. Si supply is a promising strategy in management programs of chewing herbivores in Si-accumulator plants.
AB - Silicon (Si) is a beneficial mineral that enhances plant protection against abiotic and biotic stresses, including insect herbivores. Si increases mechanical and biochemical defenses in a variety of plant species. However, the use of Si in agriculture remains poorly adopted despite its widely documented benefits in plant health. In this study, we tested the effect of Si supplementation on the induction of plant resistance against a chewing herbivore in crops with differential ability to accumulate this element. Our model system comprised the generalist herbivore fall armyworm (FAW) Spodoptera frugiperda and three economically important plant species with differential ability to uptake silicon: tomato (non-Si accumulator), soybean, and maize (Si-accumulators). We investigated the effects of Si supply and insect herbivory on the induction of physical and biochemical plant defenses, and herbivore growth using potted plants in greenhouse conditions. Herbivory and Si supply increased peroxidase (POX) activity and trichome density in tomato, and the concentration of phenolics in soybean. Si supplementation increased leaf Si concentration in all plants. Previous herbivory affected FAW larval weight gain in all plants tested, and the Si treatment further reduced weight gain of larvae fed on Si accumulator plants. Notably, our results strongly suggest that non-glandular trichomes are important reservoirs of Si in maize and may increase plant resistance to chewing herbivores. We conclude that Si offers transient resistance to FAW in soybean, and a more lasting resistance in maize. Si supply is a promising strategy in management programs of chewing herbivores in Si-accumulator plants.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101664518&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85101664518&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3389/fpls.2021.631824
DO - 10.3389/fpls.2021.631824
M3 - Article
C2 - 33679847
AN - SCOPUS:85101664518
SN - 1664-462X
VL - 12
JO - Frontiers in Plant Science
JF - Frontiers in Plant Science
M1 - 631824
ER -