Stemborer‐induced rice plant volatiles boost direct and indirect resistance in neighboring plants

What is it about?

Plants have the ability to eavesdrop on the volatile signals emitted by the neighboring conspecific plants. Upon perceiving volatiles from plants attacked by herbivores, plants will prepare themselves for the incoming threat, and show enhanced activation of defensive responses once they are harmed by the same attacker. Here we show this to be the case for rice, one of world’s most important staple crops. Pre-exposure to volatiles induced by the striped stem borer was found to boost direct (increased plant toxicity to caterpillars) and indirect (enhanced attraction to parasitoids) resistance in neighboring rice plants upon subsequent caterpillar infestation. Furthermore, with chemical and molecular analyses, this study reveals the underlying mechanisms of the volatile-mediated priming of rice plant defenses. It paves the way for novel management strategies to enhance rice plant resistance to one of its most devastating pests.

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