1. Profiling Volatile Terpenoids from Calabrian Pine Stands Infested by the Pine Processionary Moth
- Author
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Maurizio Badiani, Enrica Alicandri, Francesco Manti, Vincenza Foti, Fabrizio Araniti, Agostino Sorgonà, Angelo Maria Giuffrè, Carmelo Peter Bonsignore, Elvira Castiglione, Stefano Covino, Anna Rita Paolacci, and Mario Ciaffi
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,0301 basic medicine ,Pinus nigra subsp. laricio (Poiret) Maire ,foraging behavior ,Plant Science ,Biology ,medicine.disease_cause ,01 natural sciences ,Article ,03 medical and health sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,terpenoids ,lcsh:Botany ,Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Denis and Schiffermüller, 1775) ,green leaf volatiles ,Infestation ,Botany ,medicine ,Oleoresin ,Pine processionary moth ,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics ,Trophic level ,Herbivore ,Ecology ,Green leaf volatiles ,pine processionary moth ,Terpenoid ,lcsh:QK1-989 ,bornyl acetate ,Calabrian pine ,030104 developmental biology ,chemistry ,headspace analysis ,Bornyl acetate ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
Terpenoids make up the biggest and most diversified class of chemical substances discovered in plants, encompassing over 40,000 individual compounds. In conifers, the production of terpenoids, either as oleoresin or emitted as volatile compounds, play an important role in the physical and chemical defence responses against pathogens and herbivores. In the present work, we examined, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, the terpenic defensive relations of Calabrian pine (Pinus nigra subsp. laricio (Poiret) Maire), facing the attack of the pine processionary moth (Thaumetopoea pityocampa (Denis and Schiffermü, ller, 1775)), brought about in the open on adult plant individuals growing at two distinct forest sites. Among the volatile terpenoids emitted from pine needles, bornyl acetate [(4,7,7-trimethyl-3-bicyclo[2.2.1]heptanyl) acetate] was the most frequently and selectively associated with the infestation, increasing during the period of most intense trophic activity of the caterpillars (defoliation), and decreasing thereafter. Although further work is needed to clarify whether the observed response reflects defence reactions and/or they are involved in communication among the infested plants and their biotic environment, the present results boost the currently growing interest in the isolation and characterization of plant secondary metabolites that can be used to control pests, pathogens, and weeds.
- Published
- 2020
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