Broad spectrum insect resistance and metabolites in close relatives of the cultivated tomato

Abstract

Wild relatives of tomato possess effective means to deal with several pests, among which are a variety of insects. Here we studied the presence of resistance components against Trialeurodes vaporariorum, Myzus persicae, Frankliniella occidentalis, and Spodoptera exigua in the Lycopersicon group of Solanum section Lycopersicon by means of bioassays and comprehensive metabolite profiling. Broad spectrum resistance was found in Solanum galapagense and a few accessions of S. pimpinellifolium. Resistance to the sap sucking insects may be based on the same mechanism, but different from the caterpillar resistance. Large and highly significant differences in the leaf metabolomes were found between S. galapagense, containing type IV trichomes, and its closest relative S. cheesmaniae, which lacks type IV trichomes. The most evident differences were the relatively high levels of different methylated forms of the flavonoid myricetin and many acyl sucrose structures in S. galapagense. Possible candidate genes regulating the production of these compounds were identified in the Wf-1 QTL region of S. galapagense, which was previously shown to confer resistance to the whitefly B. tabaci. The broad spectrum insect resistance identified in S. galapagense will be very useful to increase resistance in cultivated tomato.