Volatiles of bacteria associated with parasitoid habitats elicit distinct olfactory responses in an aphid parasitoid and its hyperparasitoid

TY - JOUR

T1 - Volatiles of bacteria associated with parasitoid habitats elicit distinct olfactory responses in an aphid parasitoid and its hyperparasitoid

AU - Goelen, Tim

AU - Sobhy, Islam S.

AU - Vanderaa, Christophe

AU - de Boer, Jetske G.

AU - Delvigne, Frank

AU - Francis, Frédéric

AU - Wäckers, Felix

AU - Rediers, Hans

AU - Verstrepen, Kevin J.

AU - Wenseleers, Tom

AU - Jacquemyn, Hans

AU - Lievens, Bart

N1 - 6913, TE; Data Archiving: Data archived at Dryad, no NIOO project

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Abstract To locate mating partners and essential resources such as food, oviposition sites and shelter, insects rely to a large extent on chemical cues. While most research has focused on cues derived from plants and insects, there is mounting evidence that indicates that micro-organisms emit volatile compounds that may play an important role in insect behaviour. In this study, we assessed how volatile compounds emitted by phylogenetically diverse bacteria affected the olfactory response of the primary parasitoid Aphidius colemani and one of its secondary parasitoids, Dendrocerus aphidum. Olfactory responses were evaluated for volatile blends emitted by bacteria isolated from diverse sources from the parasitoid's habitat, including aphids, aphid mummies and honeydew, and from the parasitoids themselves. Results revealed that A. colemani showed a wide variation in response to bacterial volatiles, ranging from significant attraction over no response to significant repellence. Our results further showed that the olfactory response of A. colemani to bacterial volatile emissions was different from that of D. aphidum. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the volatile blends revealed that bacterial strains repellent to A. colemani produced significantly higher amounts of esters, organic acids, aromatics and cycloalkanes than attractive strains. Strains repellent to D. aphidum produced significantly higher amounts of alcohols and ketones, whereas the strains attractive to D. aphidum produced higher amounts of the monoterpenes limonene, linalool and geraniol. Overall, our results indicate that bacterial volatiles can have an important impact on insect olfactory responses, and should therefore be considered as an additional, so far often overlooked factor in studying multitrophic interactions between plants and insects. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

AB - Abstract To locate mating partners and essential resources such as food, oviposition sites and shelter, insects rely to a large extent on chemical cues. While most research has focused on cues derived from plants and insects, there is mounting evidence that indicates that micro-organisms emit volatile compounds that may play an important role in insect behaviour. In this study, we assessed how volatile compounds emitted by phylogenetically diverse bacteria affected the olfactory response of the primary parasitoid Aphidius colemani and one of its secondary parasitoids, Dendrocerus aphidum. Olfactory responses were evaluated for volatile blends emitted by bacteria isolated from diverse sources from the parasitoid's habitat, including aphids, aphid mummies and honeydew, and from the parasitoids themselves. Results revealed that A. colemani showed a wide variation in response to bacterial volatiles, ranging from significant attraction over no response to significant repellence. Our results further showed that the olfactory response of A. colemani to bacterial volatile emissions was different from that of D. aphidum. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis of the volatile blends revealed that bacterial strains repellent to A. colemani produced significantly higher amounts of esters, organic acids, aromatics and cycloalkanes than attractive strains. Strains repellent to D. aphidum produced significantly higher amounts of alcohols and ketones, whereas the strains attractive to D. aphidum produced higher amounts of the monoterpenes limonene, linalool and geraniol. Overall, our results indicate that bacterial volatiles can have an important impact on insect olfactory responses, and should therefore be considered as an additional, so far often overlooked factor in studying multitrophic interactions between plants and insects. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

KW - international

KW - chemical communication

KW - Dendrocerus aphidum

KW - microbial odour

KW - multitrophic interactions

KW - natural enemy

KW - semiochemical

KW - VOCs

KW - Aphidius colemani

KW - Plan_S-Compliant_NO

UR - http://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.fj6q573q9

U2 - 10.1111/1365-2435.13503

DO - 10.1111/1365-2435.13503

M3 - Article

SN - 0269-8463

VL - 34

SP - 507

EP - 520

JO - Functional Ecology

JF - Functional Ecology

IS - 2

ER -