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Physiological, Nutritional, and Biochemical Bases of Corn Resistance to Foliage-Feeding Fall Armyworm

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Abstract

Three corn (Zea mays) germplasm lines [i.e., Ab24E (susceptible control), Mp708 (resistant control), and a locally selected partial inbred line FAW7050 (resistant)] were examined for Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith; Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) resistance. Nutritional [i.e., total protein content, amino acids, glucose, total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC), protein to TNC (P/C) ratios] and biochemical (i.e., peroxidase and lipoxygenase 3) properties in the seedlings of these corn lines were examined to categorize resistance mechanisms to S. frugiperda. Physiological changes in photosynthetic rates also were examined in an attempt to explain nutritional and biochemical dynamics among corn germplasm lines and between insect-infested and noninfested corn plants within a germplasm line. Results indicated that S. frugiperda larvae survived better and developed faster in susceptible Ab24E than in resistant FAW7050 or Mp708. The three germplasm lines differed in resistance mechanisms to S. frugiperda, and the observed patterns of resistance were probably collective results of the P/C ratio and defensive proteins. That is, the susceptibility of Ab24E to S. frugiperda was due to a high P/C ratio and a low level of induced defensive compounds in response to insect herbivory, while the resistance of FAW7050 resulted from elevated defensive proteins following insect herbivory, low P/C ratio, and elevated defensive proteins in Mp708 contributed to its resistance to S. frugiperda. The elevated protein amounts in resistant Mp708 and FAW7050 following S. frugiperda injury were likely due to greater conversion of photosynthates to defensive proteins following the greater photosynthetic rates in these entries. Greater photosynthetic capacity in Mp708 and FAW7050 also led to higher amino acid and glucose contents in these two lines. Neither amino acid nor lipoxygenase 3 played a critical role in corn resistance to S. frugiperda. However, high inducibility of peroxidase may be an indicator of S. frugiperda susceptibility as observed elsewhere.

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Acknowledgments

Mention of trade names or commercial products in this article is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the US Department of Agriculture. The authors are indebted to Drs. Dawn Olson and Baozhu Guo (USDA-ARS Crop Protection and Management Research Unit, Tifton, GA, USA) and two anonymous reviewers for their reviews of the early drafts of this manuscript. The study was supported in part by the Georgia Corn Commission Research Fund.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of Georgia, Griffin, GA, 30223, USA

    Yigen Chen & G. David Buntin

  2. Crop Genetics and Breeding Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Tifton, GA, 31793, USA

    Xinzhi Ni

  3. Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA

    Yigen Chen

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  1. Yigen Chen
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  2. Xinzhi Ni
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Correspondence to Xinzhi Ni.

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Chen, Y., Ni, X. & Buntin, G.D. Physiological, Nutritional, and Biochemical Bases of Corn Resistance to Foliage-Feeding Fall Armyworm. J Chem Ecol 35, 297–306 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-009-9600-1

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