Terpene Chemistry of Eastern Hemlocks Resistant to Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

Recent studies have identified a small number of individual eastern hemlock trees that demonstrate relative resistance to the introduced sap-feeding insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid. Using gas chromatography, we compared concentrations of twenty-two terpenoids in susceptible and relatively resista...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of chemical ecology 2014-09, Vol.40 (9), p.1003-1012
Main Authors: McKenzie, E. Alexa, Elkinton, Joseph S, Casagrande, Richard A, Preisser, Evan l, Mayer, Mark
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adelges tsugae
Agriculture
Animal populations
Animals
Biochemistry
Biological Microscopy
Biomedical and Life Sciences
branches
carbon
Chemical ecology
chemistry
Cuttings
Ecology
Entomology
Flame Ionization
forests
Gardens & gardening
Gas chromatography
Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Hemiptera - physiology
Herbivores
Herbivory
Insects
Life Sciences
Monoterpenes
Monoterpenes - metabolism
monoterpenoids
New Jersey
Plant resistance
Seasons
Sesquiterpenes - metabolism
sesquiterpenoids
Trees
Trees - metabolism
Tsuga - metabolism
Tsuga canadensis
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Summary:Recent studies have identified a small number of individual eastern hemlock trees that demonstrate relative resistance to the introduced sap-feeding insect, the hemlock woolly adelgid. Using gas chromatography, we compared concentrations of twenty-two terpenoids in susceptible and relatively resistant trees, both in the forest and in propagated cuttings in a common-garden setting. Terpenoid concentrations were higher in twig tissue of resistant versus susceptible trees, across six sampling dates and at both sites. These changes may be particularly important because the hemlock woolly adelgid feeds on twig tissue. Because the common-garden cuttings were free of herbivores, the higher terpenoid concentrations are interpreted as a constitutive defense. Increased levels of monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes imply an overall increase in the input of carbon precursors to both terpenoid synthesis pathways.
ISSN:0098-0331
1573-1561
DOI:10.1007/s10886-014-0495-0