Plant-insect communication in urban forests: Similarities of plant volatile compositions among tree species (host vs. non-host trees) for alder leaf beetle Agelastica coerulea

Abstract

Behavior of insects, such as pollination and grazing, is usually determined by biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs). However, particularly in O₃-polluted urban forests, the BVOCs-based plant-insect communication can be disrupted by the reaction of O₃ with leaf-emitted BVOCs, such as between Japanese white birch (Betula platyphylla var. japonica) and a leaf beetle (Agelastica coerulea). To understand plant-insect communication in O₃-polluted environments, it is necessary to identify chemical species of BVOCs that contribute to attractiveness toward insects but are diminished by elevated O₃. In this study, we conducted olfactory response tests and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses to clarify whether there is a similarity of BVOC components among Betulaceae host trees that can explain the attraction of the stenophagous insect A. coerulea. The olfactory response tests indicated that Betulaceae host trees attract A. coerulea via leaf-emitted BVOCs, while there was no preference of the leaf beetles to non-host trees (Sorbus commixta and Morus bombycis). However, GC-MS analyses indicated that the composition of BVOC blends considerably differed among Betulaceae host trees, although alders (Alnus hirsuta and A. japonica) had a similar composition of BVOC blend in each season (June and September) during which the adult leaf beetle is active. A distinct characteristic of the emission from B. platyphylla was that 2-carene and limonene, which are O₃-reactive species, were emitted with a high monoterpene ratio irrespective of the season. Thus, these volatiles and the blend could be expected to lead the disrupted communication found between B. platyphylla and A. coerulea under elevated O₃ in previous field studies. In addition, our results indicated that A. coerulea is attracted to more than one blend within Betulaceae host trees, suggesting that grazing damages can be affected by different host preferences and O₃ reactivity with specific BVOCs in the field. BVOCs-based plant-insect interactions should be further studied in multi-species communities to better understand plant-insect communication in O₃-polluted environments.

Keywords: Biological communication; Herbivores; Insects; Ozone pollution; Plant volatiles.