Predatory Earwigs vs Herbivore-Induced Plant Volatiles vs Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria

What is it about?

Plant-associated microbes may induce plant defenses against herbivores. Plants, in turn, can attract natural enemies, such as predators, using herbivore-induced plant volatiles. Intricate communication occurs between microorganisms, plants, and insects. Given that many aspects related to mechanisms involved in this symbiotic system remain unknown, we evaluated how beneficial soil-borne microorganisms can affect the interactions between plants, herbivores, and natural enemies. For this study, we established a multitrophic system composed of the predatory earwig Doru luteipes (Dermaptera: Forficulidae), arugula (Eruca sativa, Brassicaceae) as the host plant, Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) larvae as a specialist herbivore, Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae as a generalist herbivore, and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens as the plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR), in a series of nocturnal olfactometry experiments. By assessing earwig preference towards herbivore-induced and PGPR-inoculated plants in different combinations, we showed that the interaction between rhizobacteria, plants, and herbivores can affect the predatory earwig’s behavior.

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Why is it important?

We observed a synergistic effect in which earwigs were attracted by plants that presented as PGPR inoculated and herbivore damaged, for both specialist and generalist herbivores.

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