Herbicides and their potential to disrupt plant–insect chemical communication

Abstract

Ecological interactions between plants and insects are of paramount importance for the maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. Herbicides have long been considered a threat to plant and insect populations, but global increases in intensive agriculture and availability of herbicide-resistant crops have intensified concerns about their full impact on biodiversity. Here, we argue that exposure to sublethal herbicide doses has the potential to alter plant-insect interactions as a result of disruptions in their chemical communication. This is because herbicides interfere with biosynthetic pathways and phytohormones involved in the production of several classes of plant volatiles that mediate plant-insect chemical communication. Sublethal herbicide doses can modify the morphological and life-history plant traits and affect interactions with insects. However, the potential changes in plant volatiles and their consequences for plant-insect chemical communication have not yet received as much attention. We discuss how target-site (disruptors of primary metabolism) and non-target-site (synthetic auxins) herbicides could alter the production of plant volatiles and disrupt plant-insect chemical communication. We suggest research avenues to fill in the current gap in our knowledge that might derive recommendations and applied solutions to minimize herbicides' impacts on plant-insect interactions and biodiversity.

Off-target drift of the herbicide dicamba disrupts plant-pollinator interactionsvianovel pathways

“…a pollinator approaches and then forages for pollen or nectar), we found that all species were equally likely to be visited between treatments, but that the rate of visitation was significantly reduced for one species ( Cardiospermum halicacabum ). As with approach rate, visitation rate is standardized by the total number of flowers each individual produced across surveys, potentially suggesting that the rate of visitation is reduced in C. halicacabum not because of changes in floral display, but instead due to reductions in the quality of the nectar or pollen or perhaps changes in the volatile organic carbons (VOCs) that are released by plants and attract pollinators (39).…”

Chemical communication between plants and insects

“…The delicate natural ecological interactions between plants and insects can be indirectly impacted by a global increase in intensive agriculture and availability of herbicide‐resistant crops through habitat degradation and climate change (Soroye et al, 2020; Wagner et al, 2021; Zattara & Aizen, 2021). Considering the herbicides interfere with biosynthetic pathways and phytohormones involved in the production of several classes of plant volatiles that mediate plant–insect chemical communication, Ramos et al (2022) argue that the exposure to sublethal herbicide doses has the potential to alter plant–insect interactions as a result of disruptions in their chemical communication. After discussing how target‐site (disruptors of primary metabolism) and non‐target‐site (synthetic auxins) herbicides could alter the production of plant volatiles and disrupt plant–insect chemical communication, Ramos et al (2022) proposed that research avenues to fill in the current gap in our knowledge that might derive recommendations and applied solutions to minimize herbicide impacts on plant–insect interactions and biodiversity.…”

“…In this special issue of the Journal of Systematics and Evolution , we present a collection of 10 papers addressing these challenges through original research and comprehensive reviews of relevant subfields. The contributions can be organized into four primary themes: (i) community‐level communication theory (Zu et al, 2022) and its application to plant–pollinator communities (Yang et al, 2022); (ii) the evolutionary history of communication from a phylogenetic and macroevolutionary perspective (Martel et al, 2021; Schwery et al, 2022); (iii) various communication types, including plant–pollinator (Martel et al, 2021), plant–pest (Fang et al, 2023), and plant–fungi–insect interactions (Xu et al, 2023); and (iv) an exploration of different communication factors such as distyly (Zeng et al, 2022), odor dynamics (Feng et al, 2022), chemical structures (Zhang et al, 2022), and the impact of herbicides (Ramos et al, 2022).…”

Biochemical and Physiological Responses of Cucumis sativus L. to Application of Potential Bioinsecticides—Aqueous Carum carvi L. Seed Distillation By-Product Based Extracts

“…Among them, more than 160 VOCs have been identified in cucumber plants [34]. The application of chemical pesticides [35,36] and plant extracts [4,37] can affect the emissions of VOCs. As the plant extracts themselves contain VOCs with pest-repelling and deterring properties [30], the efficacy of a biopesticide depends on the mutual effect of the host plant and the sprayed VOCs.…”