Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) priming in response to caterpillar herbivory

Volatile organic compound (VOC) perception by plants can play a key role in inter- and intra-plant communication by enhancing resistance against herbivory. Plants ‘eavesdropping’ on VOCs emitted from an attacked neighbor, are able to prime their own defenses by upregulating wound-response genes and increasing phytohormone levels to reduce future herbivory. Since the mechanisms behind plant volatile perception are still poorly understood, we are examining volatile emission patterns over time during herbivory and the volatile compounds that result in a priming response in undamaged plants. We found that volatile emission pattern from Heliothis virescens-fed tobacco changes over time. Based on these preliminary data in tobacco and the available literature on priming in maize, we hypothesize that undamaged plants will exhibit a priming response of either increased wound response genes or JA after exposure to green leafy volatiles.