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From
•>>July 2006
Junji Takabayashi answers
a few questions about this month's fast moving front in the
field of Agricultural Sciences.
Field: Agricultural Sciences
Article: Herbivory-induced volatiles elicit defence genes in lima bean leaves
Authors: Arimura,
G;Ozawa, R;Shimoda, T;Nishioka, T;Boland, W;Takabyashi, J
Journal: NATURE, 406 (6795): 512-515, AUG 3 2000
Addresses:
Kyoto Univ, Grad Sch Agr, Lab Ecol Informat, Kyoto 6068502, Japan.
Kyoto Univ, Grad Sch Agr, Lab Ecol Informat, Kyoto 6068502, Japan.
Biooriented Technol Res Advancement Inst, Tokyo 1050001, Japan.
Kyoto Univ, Grad Sch Agr, Lab Insect Physiol, Kyoto 6068502, Japan.
Max Planck Inst Chem Ecol, D-07745 Jena, Germany.
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Why do you think your
paper is highly cited?
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“By exposing green leaf volatiles
to crops, we may be able to make the crops more resistant against herbivores and pathogens.”
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By using molecular biological methods, we showed sound evidence
of plant-plant interaction, which had long been considered to be a
questionable issue in plant biology/ecology.
Does it describe a new discovery, methodology, or synthesis
of knowledge?
This describes a new discovery that volatiles emitted by
herbivore-damaged plants can cause defensive responses in
downwind, undamaged, neighboring plants.
Could you summarize the significance of your paper in
layman's terms?
When plants are infested by herbivorous insects, the plants
start emitting volatiles that attract carnivorous natural enemies
of herbivores. These volatiles are called herbivore-induced plant
volatiles (HIPV). Interestingly, when neighboring, intact,
conspecific plants are exposed to HIPV, they start defending
themselves against the future influx of the herbivores, by
expressing defensive genes.
Thus, the infested plant (talking plant) and the neighboring
intact plant (listening plant) communicate via HIPV. We identified
the chemicals that mediate this plant-plant interaction.
How did you become involved in this research?
From 1988 to 1990, I had been a postdoc in the Department of
Entomology at Wageningen University. At that time, Marcel Dicke
(the host scientist), Maurice Sabelis, and Jan Bruin (University
of Amsterdam) were studying the plant-plant interactions mediated
by HIPV.
Are there any social or political implications for your
research?
The plant-plant interactions can be used in the framework of
integrated peat management. We reported that volatile terpenoids
and green leaf volatiles were chemicals that mediate plant-plant
communications. By exposing green leaf volatiles to crops, we may
be able to make the crops more resistant against herbivores and
pathogens.
Junji Takabayashi, Ph.D.
Center for Ecological Research
Kyoto University
Otsu, Shiga, Japan
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