Impacts of Ultraviolet Radiation on Interactions Between Plants and Herbivorous Insects: A Chemo-Ecological Perspective

Abstract

Plant–insect interactions are mainly triggered by plant metabolites that serve as nutrients and influence acceptance behaviour. For generalist herbivores, severalmetabolites act as feeding deterrents or toxins, whereas they can be attractive and stimulatory for specialists that are adapted to the chemical compounds.However, the qualitative and quantitative composition of plant natural products can be strongly modified by environmental factors. One important factor is the ultraviolet (UV) radiation that affects plant morphology and physiology and consequently also chemistry. In this review, general plant responses to UV are shortly summarised.