Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Nov;91(3):413-427.
doi: 10.1007/s10493-023-00852-w. Epub 2023 Oct 20.

Attraction of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae), to healthy and damaged strawberry plants mediated by volatile cues

Neby M Mérida-Torres  1 , Leopoldo Cruz-López  2 , Edi A Malo  1 , Samuel Cruz-Esteban  3   4
Affiliations

Attraction of the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae), to healthy and damaged strawberry plants mediated by volatile cues

Neby M Mérida-Torres et al. Exp Appl Acarol. 2023 Nov.

Abstract

Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae), the two-spotted spider mite, is a pest that limits strawberry production in Mexico. Little is known about the interactions that occur between T. urticae and healthy strawberry plants or strawberry plants infested by conspecific spider mites. Therefore, in this study we evaluated the attraction of T. urticae to healthy strawberry plants mediated by volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and to plants damaged by conspecifics mediated by herbivore-induce plant volatiles (HIPVs). First, we conducted dual-choice tests using a Y-tube olfactometer with plants and extracts obtained through dynamic aeration. The volatile composition of the extracts was identified using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Once the compounds were identified, we also conducted dual-choice tests with selected synthetic compounds. Tetranychus urticae exhibited greater attraction to both healthy and damaged plants compared to the control (clean air). However, when healthy and damaged plants were offered simultaneously, there was no significant preference observed. Bioassays with extracts obtained by dynamic aeration yielded similar results. The identified compounds were terpenes and aromatic hydrocarbons. We found qualitative and quantitative changes between the VOCs emitted by the healthy plant and the HIPVs from mite-damaged plants. The individual compounds α-pinene (10 ng), pseudocumene (10 ng), and limonene (1 ng) and 10 ng of the blend made of α-pinene + pseudocumene + mesitylene + limonene (5:34:57:4) attracted more T. urticae than the control. However, the binary blend of pseudocumene + limonene (91:9) was more attractive than the other binary or three-compound blends evaluated. These results may contribute to developing strategies for the management of this pest.

Keywords: Acari; Behavior; Dynamic aeration; GC-MS; Interaction.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Abasolo RV, Cruz-López L, Rojas JC, Hernández HG, Martínez AE, Nápoles JR (2022) Volatile compounds of unripe fruits from different cultivars (Persea americana Mill). Food Sci Technol 42:1–6. https://doi.org/10.1590/fst.93621
    1. Agut B, Gamir J, Jaques JA, Flors V (2015) Tetranychus urticae-triggered responses promote genotype‐dependent conspecific repellence or attractiveness in citrus. New Phytol 207:790–804. https://doi.org/10.1111/nph.13357
    1. Agut B, Gamir J, Jaques JA, Flors V (2016) Systemic resistance in citrus to Tetranychus urticae induced by conspecifics is transmitted by grafting and mediated by mobile amino acids. J Exp Bot 67:5711–5723. https://doi.org/10.1093/jxb/erw335
    1. Agut B, Pastor V, Jaques JA, Flors V (2018) Can plant defence mechanisms provide new approaches for the sustainable control of the two-spotted spider mite Tetranychus urticae. Int J Mol Sci 19:614. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijms19020614
    1. Ainane A, Khammour F, Charaf S, Elabboubi M, Elkouali M, Talbi M, Ainane T (2019) Chemical composition and insecticidal activity of five essential oils: Cedrus atlantica, Citrus limonum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Syzygium aromaticum and Eucalyptus globules. Mater Today: Proc 13:474–485. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.matpr.2019.04.004 - DOI

LinkOut - more resources