Abstract
Abstract The cabbage whitefly [ Aleyrodes proletella L. (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)] is becoming a serious pest in Brassica oleracea L. (Brassicaceae) crops. However, almost nothing is known about the interaction of this insect with its host plants. Previous studies have shown differences in the natural occurrence of adults, eggs, and nymphs on the closely related B. oleracea cultivars Christmas Drumhead and Riviera grown in the field. In this study, we aimed to identify the nature of these differences and to gain insight into the resistance mechanisms against A. proletella. We used no‐choice experiments on field‐ and greenhouse‐grown plants to show that the differences between the two cultivars are mainly based on antibiosis (traits that reduce herbivore performance) and not on antixenosis (traits that deter herbivory). This was further supported by laboratory choice experiments that indicated little or no discrimination between the two cultivars based on plant volatiles. We showed that resistance is dependent on plant age, that is, resistance increased during plant development, and is mainly independent of environmental factors. Analysis of probing behaviour revealed that the resistance trait affects A. proletella at the phloem level and that morphological differences between the two cultivars are most likely not involved. We suggest that compounds present in the phloem reduce sap ingestion by the whitefly and that this explains the observed resistance.
Abstract from the paper’s OpenAlex record, shown for indexing and research. Copyright remains with the authors or the publisher. Read at the source ↗
The text the model read, with the source record’s inline markup (italics, sub- and superscripts) rendered and its character entities decoded; quote offsets refer to the raw text.
Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Differences between the two cultivars are mainly due to antibiosis rather than antixenosis.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleracea
Brassica oleraceae0 - Material
- the two cultivarse1
- Outcome
- antibiosise1
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“is becoming a serious pest in Brassica oleracea L.”
e1“to show that the differences between the two cultivars are mainly based on antibiosis”
Claim · model-written summary
Laboratory choice tests showed little or no discrimination between the two cultivars based on plant volatiles.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleraceaBrassica oleraceae0
- Material
- two cultivarse2
- Compound
- plant volatilese2
- Outcome
- discriminatione2
- Direction
- little or no discriminatione2
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“is becoming a serious pest in Brassica oleracea L.”
e2“laboratory choice experiments that indicated little or no discrimination between the two cultivars based on plant volatiles”
Claim · model-written summary
Resistance increased during plant development and depended on plant age.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleraceaBrassica oleraceae0
- Treatment
- plant agee3
- Outcome
- resistancee3
- Direction
- increasede3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“is becoming a serious pest in Brassica oleracea L.”
e3“resistance is dependent on plant age, that is, resistance increased during plant development, and is mainly independent of environmental factors”
Claim · model-written summary
Resistance was mainly independent of environmental factors.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleraceaBrassica oleraceae0
- Treatment
- environmental factorse3
- Outcome
- resistancee3
- Direction
- independente3
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“is becoming a serious pest in Brassica oleracea L.”
e3“resistance is dependent on plant age, that is, resistance increased during plant development, and is mainly independent of environmental factors”
Claim · model-written summary
The resistance trait affects whitefly probing behaviour at the phloem level.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleraceaBrassica oleraceae0
- Interactor
- A. proletella
Aleyrodes proletellae4pest - Outcome
- probing behavioure4
- Qualifier
- at the phloem levele4
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“is becoming a serious pest in Brassica oleracea L.”
e4“Analysis of probing behaviour revealed that the resistance trait affects A. proletella at the phloem level”
Claim · model-written summary
Phloem compounds likely reduce whitefly sap ingestion and explain the observed resistance.
- Taxon
- Brassica oleraceaBrassica oleraceae0
- Interactor
- whiteflye5pest
- Compound
- compounds present in the phloeme5
- Outcome
- sap ingestione5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“is becoming a serious pest in Brassica oleracea L.”
e5“We suggest that compounds present in the phloem reduce sap ingestion by the whitefly and that this explains the observed resistance”