Squash genes ( SLW1 and SLW3 ) induced systemically after silverleaf whitefly feeding were identified. Differences in the local and systemic expression of SLW1 and SLW3 after feeding by the closely related silverleaf and sweetpotato whiteflies were observed. Temporal and spatial studies showed that SLW1 and SLW3 were induced when second, third, and fourth nymphal instars were feeding. Although only barely detected after wounding and bacterial infection, SLW1 and SLW3 RNAs were abundant during water-deficit stress. Treatments with wound/defense signal molecules showed that SLW1 RNAs accumulated in response to methyl jasmonate and ethylene, whereas SLW3 was not regulated by known wound/defense signals, suggesting utilization of a novel mechanism for defense signal transduction. SLW1 RNAs accumulated during floral and fruit development, whereas SLW3 RNAs were not detected during vegetative or reproductive development. The potential roles of SLW1, an M20b peptidase-like protein, and SLW3, a ⤠-glucosidase-like protein, in defense and the leaf-silvering disorder are discussed.
INTRODUCTIONAlthough the signal transduction pathways that are activated by mechanical wounding and pathogen invasion have been studied intensively (Ryals et al., 1996;Ryan and Pearce, 1998; Dempsey et al., 1999;Pieterse and van Loon, 1999), there is limited understanding of changes in plant gene expression in response to insect feeding. Given the similarities of mechanical wounding and the damage incurred by insects that masticate foliage, it is not surprising that wound-response transcripts and proteins (i.e., proteinase inhibitors, polyphenol oxidases, and leucine aminopeptidase) accumulate locally and systemically in response to caterpillar feeding (Green and Ryan, 1982;Pautot et al., 1993;Stout et al., 1996; Karban and Baldwin, 1997). However, insect feeding and wounding are not equivalent. Feeding by Manduca sexta larvae, for example, enhances expression of wound-response genes relative to wounding but also induces expression of a novel set of plant genes that are not induced by wounding alone (Korth and Dixon, 1997). Although these herbivory-induced genes have not been identified, some of their gene products may be involved in biosynthesis or release of volatiles that are important in mediating plant-herbivore-predator interactions (PĂĄre and Tumlinson, 1999).Far less is known about the changes in gene expression in response to insects that use other modes of feeding (Stout et al., 1994). Only a few recent studies have investigated plant responses to phloem-feeding whiteflies. Unlike insects that consume foliage, whiteflies do not induce the woundresponse genes that are modulated by the octadecanoid pathway. Whitefly feeding on tomatoes primarily induces the salicylic acid (SA)-independent, jasmonic acid (JA)/ethylene-dependent cascade of defense signal transduction (Chao et al., 1999;Pieterse and van Loon, 1999; D.P. Puthoff and L.L. Walling, manuscript submitted; D.P. Puthoff, C.S. LeVesque, T.M. Perring, and L.L. Walling, manuscript ...