Plant-plant-plant communications, mediated by (E)-β-ocimene emitted from transgenic tobacco plants, prime indirect defense responses of lima beans

Some volatile organic chemicals (VOCs), such as terpenes, are responsible for communication between plants. We assessed the priming of defense responses in lima bean by exposing the plants to transgenic-plant-volatiles [(E)-beta-ocimene] emitted from transgenic tobacco plants (NtOS2). As it was previously shown that the first receiver lima bean plants, which were infested with spider mites after having been exposed to (E)-beta-ocimene from NtOS2, were highly induced to emit VOCs, we analyzed the VOCs emitted from a second set of receiver plants (second receiver plants) exposed to the infested, first receiver plants. In response to feeding by spider mites, two homoterpenes [(E)-4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene and (E,E)-4,8,12-trimethyltrideca-1,3,7,11-tetraene] were more highly emitted from the second receiver plants in response to spider mite attack, in comparison to the levels emitted from plants that had been placed near infested, wild-type (WT)-volatile-exposed plants. These data suggest that transgenic-plant-volatile-mediated, multiple-plant communication can function in plant defenses.