LAUSR

BACKGROUND Symptoms of pine wilt disease (PWD) are caused when pathogenic pine wood nematodes (PWN) invade healthy host trees via the wounds created by the Monochamus alternatus adults. Exogenous methyl jasmonate (MeJA) can trigger the terpene-based induced defense in conifers, which is a core part of conifer defense system. Herein, we hypothesized that the terpene-based plant defense induced by MeJA could negatively affect the feeding behavior of M. alternatus adults, which may contribute to a new strategy in the control of PWD. RESULTS The feeding area of M. alternatus adults feeding on MeJA treated seedlings was significantly smaller compared with the ones on control seedlings. No significant difference, however, was detected from the enzyme activities in the midgut of the beetles that had fed on these seedlings. The terpenoids were mainly accumulated in traumatic resin duct while the constitutive resin duct accumulated only diterpenoids. Correspondingly, large-scaled responses at transcriptional level mainly focused on terpenoid and phenolic biosynthesis in the defending trees. CONCLUSIONS The breeding of tree species with high yield of resin may contribute to controlling the spread of PWD by suppressing the feeding of M. alternatus adults. The transcriptome sequencing results provided abundant information for further breeding of high resistant trees. Based on these findings, a potential push-pull strategy for the control of M. alternatus was discussed. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.