Insect Herbivory-Inducible Proteins Confer Post-Ingestive Plant Defenses

Abstract

Plants can accumulate a wide variety of compounds in their tissues, constitutively and/or after induction, that confer resistance to herbivorous insects. Applications of microarray and proteomic technologies show a broad array of proteins are involved in plant defense against herbivores. These insect herbivory-inducible proteins may be regulated by multiple signaling pathways through the action of plant hormones such as jasmonic acid, salicylic acid and ethylene, which are tailored to specific insect feeding morphologies and physiologies. Best studied is a group of jasmonate- and feeding-regulated proteins that target and interfere with digestive and absorptive processes of the insect digestive canal, thus playing a critical role in post-ingestive plant defense. This review will highlight recent work and discuss the function of plant proteins in recognition and response to insect herbivory.