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Dryad

Short-term responses of spider mites inform mechanisms of maize resistance to a generalist herbivore

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Sep 19, 2024 version files 40.17 KB

Abstract

Plants are attacked by diverse herbivorous pests with different host specializations. While host plant resistance influences pest pressure, how resistance impacts the behaviors of generalist and specialist herbivores, and the relationship to resistance, is less well known. Here, we investigated the behavioral changes of a generalist herbivore, the two-spotted spider mite (TSM), and a specialist herbivore, the Banks grass mite (BGM), after introduction to no-choice Tanglefoot leaf-arenas (2×2 cm2) of three maize inbred lines (B73, B75, and B96). The widely-used inbred line B73 is susceptible to spider mites, while B75 and B96 are known to be mite resistant, especially to TSM. Video tracking was used to record TSM and BGM walking, probing, feeding, resting, web-building and travel distance on arenas of each line. Mite oviposition was also recorded after 72 hours.  B75, a resistant line, decreased the feeding behavior of both mite species compared to B73 (susceptible control) and B96. Moreover, TSM appeared to be sensitive to both resistant lines (B75 and B96) with reduced oviposition, and increased resting and web-building times compared to susceptible B73. In contrast, the specialist BGM showed no difference in oviposition, resting and web-building time across all maize inbred lines. Our study suggests that arthropod resistance traits in maize, as seen in B75 and B96, affect the generalist TSM behavior quite broadly, yet sensitivity to this resistance appears to be reduced as host specialization narrows. Therefore, other mechanisms of plant resistance may be needed for defense against a specialist like BGM.