Cytosolic LOX overexpression in Arabidopsis enhances the attractiveness of parasitic wasps in response to herbivory and incidences of parasitism

In response to herbivory by cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae) larvae, crucifer plants emit green leaf volatiles (GLVs) that attract Cotesia glomerata, a carnivorous natural enemy of the larvae. To artificially increase GLV production by crucifers, we created transgenic Arabidopsis that constitutively expressed cucumber cytosolic lipoxygenase (CsLOX2). Transgenic Arabidopsis (p35S::CsLOX2.6 and p35S::CsLOX2.14) infested with P. rapae larvae were more attractive to C. glomerata than wild type (wt) and produced more jasmonic acid. p35S::CsLOX2.14 had a higher incidence of parasitism of the larvae than did wt. Infested transgenic plants emitted more (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, (E)-β-ocimene, (Z)-β-ocimene, and DMNT than infested wt plants; (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate is known to attract Cotesia wasps. Transforming cruciferous crops with cytosolic CsLOX2 could aid integrated pest management via tritrophic interactions.