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  • Publication
    Restriction temporaire
    From cotton to odor sensors: unraveling the dynamics, specificity, and exploitability of herbivore-induced plant volatiles
    (Neuchâtel : Université de Neuchâtel, 2025) ;
    Les plantes émettent des odeurs constituées de divers composés volatils pour interagir avec les organismes de leur environnement. Parmi eux, les composés volatils induits par l’herbivorie jouent un rôle clé dans la défense des plantes contre les insectes phytophages. Ces composés interviennent en modulant les interactions avec les herbivores eux-mêmes, leurs ennemis naturels ou encore avec les plantes voisines. À ce titre, les composés volatils produits par les plantes cultivées représentent un levier prometteur pour le développement de stratégies de lutte durable contre les ravageurs. Cette thèse explore différents aspects de la production de composés volatils chez le cotonnier (Gossypium hirsutum) en réponse aux attaques d’insectes herbivores, et examine leur potentiel pour la détection précoce et précise des ravageurs dans les cultures, en utilisant le maïs comme plante modèle. Le premier chapitre s'intéresse à la spécificité de l’accumulation de composés stockés dans les glandes du cotonnier suite à des dommages. Les deuxième et troisième chapitres portent sur la caractérisation des réponses volatiles de cotonniers sauvages originaires du Yucatán, cousins des variétés domestiquées. Ces travaux ont été menés d'abord en conditions contrôlées en laboratoire avec de jeunes plants cultivés en serre, puis dans l’environnement naturel des cotonniers, avec des plantes matures. Le quatrième chapitre examine la réponse volatile du cotonnier à Bucculatrix thurberiella, un insecte spécialiste. Ensemble, ces chapitres fournissent un éclairage nouveau sur la dynamique et la spécificité des volatiles chez le cotonnier. Enfin, le dernier chapitre adopte une approche plus appliquée en évaluant le potentiel de technologies existantes de détection d’odeurs pour identifier la présence de ravageurs dans les champs agricoles. ABSTRACT Plants emit odors composed of diverse volatile compounds that serve as signals to interact with surrounding organisms. Among these, herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) play a central role in plant defense by mediating interactions with herbivores, their natural enemies, and neighboring plants. As such, HIPVs produced by crop plants represent a promising avenue for sustainable pest management. This thesis investigates multiple aspects of HIPV production in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) in response to herbivory and explores how these volatiles could be harnessed for the early and accurate detection of pests in agricultural fields, using maize as a model system. The first chapter examines the specificity of damage-induced accumulation of compounds stored in the glandular structures of cotton plants. Chapters two and three focus on characterizing the volatile responses of wild cotton populations from Yucatán, relatives of domesticated varieties. These studies were first conducted under controlled conditions in the laboratory with greenhouse-grown seedlings, and subsequently in the plants’ natural environment, with mature plants. The fourth chapter investigates the HIPV response of cotton to the specialist herbivore Bucculatrix thurberiella. Together, these chapters provide new insights into the dynamics and specificity of HIPV in cotton. The final chapter adopts a more applied perspective, assessing whether existing odor-sensing technologies may be used to detect pest presence in crops.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Odor-based real-time detection and identification of pests and diseases attacking crop plants
    (2024-07-29) ; ;
    Terunobu Akiyama
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    ; ;
    Kosuke Minami
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    Genki Yoshikawa
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    Felipe Lopez-Hilfiker
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    ;
    Luca Cappellin
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    Plants respond to attacks by herbivores and pathogens by releasing specific blends of volatile compounds and the resulting odor can be specific for the attacking species. We tested if these odors can be used to monitor the presence of pests and diseases in agriculture. Two methods were used, one employing piezoresistive membrane surface stress sensors and the other proton-transfer reaction mass spectrometry. Under laboratory conditions, both techniques readily distinguished between maize plants that were either undamaged, infested by caterpillars, or infected by a fungal pathogen. Under outdoor conditions, the spectrometer could be used to recognize plants with simulated caterpillar damage with about 80% accuracy. Further finetuning of these techniques should lead to the development of odor-sensing mobile devices capable of alerting farmers to the presence and exact location of pests and diseases in their fields.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Soil salinization effects on volatile signals that mediate the induction of chemical defenses in wild cotton
    (2024)
    Teresa Quijano-Medina
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    Yeyson Briones-May
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    Uriel Solís-Rodríguez
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    ; ; ; ; ;
    Xoaquín Moreira
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    Luis Abdala-Roberts
    Plants respond to complex blends of above- and below-ground volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by neighboring plants. These responses often involve priming (i.e., preparation) or induction (i.e., increase) of defenses by “receiver” plants upon exposure to VOCs released by herbivore-damaged neighboring “emitters.” However, recent work has shown that induc- tion of VOC emissions by herbivory is modulated by abiotic factors, potentially affecting plant–plant signaling. We tested the effect of soil salinization on the induction of VOC emissions in wild cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) due to leaf damage and its consequences for the induction of defenses in neighboring plants. To this end, we performed a greenhouse factorial experiment where emitter plants were subjected to augmented soil salinity (vs. ambient salinity) and within each group emitter plants were subsequently exposed to simulated caterpillar damage (mechanical leaf damage treated with Spodoptera frugiperda oral secretion) or no damage (control). After 48 h of exposure, we collected VOCs released by emitter plants and then damaged the receivers and collected their leaves to measure levels of chemical defenses (terpenoid aldehydes of known insecticidal effects). We found an interaction between leaf damage and salinization for two groups of VOCs released by emitters (sesquiterpenes and other aromatic compounds), whereby damaged receivers had higher emissions than control plants under ambient but not salinized soil conditions. We also found that, upon being damaged, receiver plants exposed to damaged emitters exhibited a significantly higher concentration of heliocides (but not gossypol) than control plants. However, salinization did not alter this VOC exposure effect on receiver induced responses to damage. Overall, we show that exposure to induced VOC emissions from damaged plants magnifies the induction of chemical defenses due to leaf damage in neigh- boring individuals and that this is not contingent on the level of soil salinity despite the latter's effect on VOC induction.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Aphid and caterpillar feeding drive similar patterns of induced defences and resistance to subsequent herbivory in wild cotton
    (2023)
    Teresa Quijano-Medina
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    Jonathan Interian-Aguiñaga
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    Uriel Solís-Rodríguez
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    ; ; ; ;
    Marta Francisco
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    José A. Ramos-Zapata
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    Xoaquín Moreira
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    Luis Abdala-Roberts
    Plant-induced responses to attack often mediate interactions between different species of insect herbivores. These effects are predicted to be contingent on the herbivore’s feeding guild, whereby prior feeding by insects should negatively impact subsequent feeding by insects of the same guild (induced resistance) but may positively influence insects of a differ- ent guild (induced susceptibility) due to interfering crosstalk between plant biochemical pathways specific to each feeding guild. We compared the effects of prior feeding by leaf-chewing caterpillars (Spodoptera frugiperda) vs. sap-sucking aphids (Aphis gossypii) on induced defences in wild cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) and the consequences of these attacks on subse- quently feeding caterpillars (S. frugiperda). To this end, we conducted a greenhouse experiment where cotton plants were either left undamaged or first exposed to caterpillar or aphid feeding, and we subsequently placed caterpillars on the plants to assess their performance. We also collected leaves to assess the induction of chemical defences in response to herbivory. We found that prior feeding by both aphids and caterpillars resulted in reductions in consumed leaf area, caterpillar mass gain, and caterpillar survival compared with control plants. Concomitantly, prior aphid and caterpillar herbivory caused similar increases in phenolic compounds (flavonoids and hydroxycinnamic acids) and defensive terpenoids (hemigossypolone) compared with control plants. Overall, these findings indicate that these insects confer a similar mode and level of induced resistance in wild cotton plants, calling for further work addressing the biochemical mechanisms underpinning these effects.