Fall Armyworm-Induced Secondary Metabolites in Sorghum Defend Against Its Attack
The fall armyworm (FAW), <i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>, is one of the major agricultural pests that has invaded China. The FAW is a polyphagous insect with the gramineous crop sorghum being a key host plant. However, the basis of sorghum’s chemical defense against FAW feeding is still unc...
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2025-02-01
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| author | Juan-Ying Zhao Qi Lu Jiang Sun Li-Yuan Sun Ruiyan Ma Yuanxin Wang Jun Hu Huiyan Wang Yizhong Zhang Dong Jia Jun Yang |
| author_facet | Juan-Ying Zhao Qi Lu Jiang Sun Li-Yuan Sun Ruiyan Ma Yuanxin Wang Jun Hu Huiyan Wang Yizhong Zhang Dong Jia Jun Yang |
| author_sort | Juan-Ying Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The fall armyworm (FAW), <i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>, is one of the major agricultural pests that has invaded China. The FAW is a polyphagous insect with the gramineous crop sorghum being a key host plant. However, the basis of sorghum’s chemical defense against FAW feeding is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the potential defensive mechanism of sorghum against this insect species. It was found that FAW larvae preferred maize over sorghum, the selection and damage rates for sorghum plants by larvae were significantly lower than those of maize plants, and feeding on sorghum restricted larval weight. The non-target metabolomics revealed that the feeding of FAW larvae altered the plant secondary metabolite spectra in maize and sorghum, resulting in species-specific differential secondary metabolites (DSMs). Of these, 19 DSMs were specific in maize, and 51 in sorghum, and only 6 were found in both species. Two-choice and no-choice feeding assays found that gambogenic acid and chimonanthine, two DSMs unique to sorghum, were found to deter larval feeding and decrease the larval weight. These findings reveal that the defense of sorghum against FAW is regulated by changing the response spectra of secondary metabolites and that the induced metabolites have a defensive function by acting as antifeedants, which provides new insights into employing bioactive plant compounds against polyphagous insects. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4be12f720aa2473aaaab0656cddec1dc |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj-art-4be12f720aa2473aaaab0656cddec1dc2025-08-20T03:12:19ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502025-02-0116221810.3390/insects16020218Fall Armyworm-Induced Secondary Metabolites in Sorghum Defend Against Its AttackJuan-Ying Zhao0Qi Lu1Jiang Sun2Li-Yuan Sun3Ruiyan Ma4Yuanxin Wang5Jun Hu6Huiyan Wang7Yizhong Zhang8Dong Jia9Jun Yang10Sorghum Research Institute, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030600, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaSorghum Research Institute, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030600, ChinaSorghum Research Institute, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030600, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaCollege of Plant Protection, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, ChinaThe fall armyworm (FAW), <i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>, is one of the major agricultural pests that has invaded China. The FAW is a polyphagous insect with the gramineous crop sorghum being a key host plant. However, the basis of sorghum’s chemical defense against FAW feeding is still unclear. In this study, we investigated the potential defensive mechanism of sorghum against this insect species. It was found that FAW larvae preferred maize over sorghum, the selection and damage rates for sorghum plants by larvae were significantly lower than those of maize plants, and feeding on sorghum restricted larval weight. The non-target metabolomics revealed that the feeding of FAW larvae altered the plant secondary metabolite spectra in maize and sorghum, resulting in species-specific differential secondary metabolites (DSMs). Of these, 19 DSMs were specific in maize, and 51 in sorghum, and only 6 were found in both species. Two-choice and no-choice feeding assays found that gambogenic acid and chimonanthine, two DSMs unique to sorghum, were found to deter larval feeding and decrease the larval weight. These findings reveal that the defense of sorghum against FAW is regulated by changing the response spectra of secondary metabolites and that the induced metabolites have a defensive function by acting as antifeedants, which provides new insights into employing bioactive plant compounds against polyphagous insects.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/2/218sorghum<i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i>secondary metabolitesdefense mechanismantifeedant |
| spellingShingle | Juan-Ying Zhao Qi Lu Jiang Sun Li-Yuan Sun Ruiyan Ma Yuanxin Wang Jun Hu Huiyan Wang Yizhong Zhang Dong Jia Jun Yang Fall Armyworm-Induced Secondary Metabolites in Sorghum Defend Against Its Attack Insects sorghum <i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i> secondary metabolites defense mechanism antifeedant |
| title | Fall Armyworm-Induced Secondary Metabolites in Sorghum Defend Against Its Attack |
| title_full | Fall Armyworm-Induced Secondary Metabolites in Sorghum Defend Against Its Attack |
| title_fullStr | Fall Armyworm-Induced Secondary Metabolites in Sorghum Defend Against Its Attack |
| title_full_unstemmed | Fall Armyworm-Induced Secondary Metabolites in Sorghum Defend Against Its Attack |
| title_short | Fall Armyworm-Induced Secondary Metabolites in Sorghum Defend Against Its Attack |
| title_sort | fall armyworm induced secondary metabolites in sorghum defend against its attack |
| topic | sorghum <i>Spodoptera frugiperda</i> secondary metabolites defense mechanism antifeedant |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/16/2/218 |
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