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Peer-reviewed journal article

Isoprene deters insect herbivory by priming plant hormone responses

Abira SahuiD, Mohammad Golam MostofaiD, Yuan XuiD, Bianca M. SerdaiD, James Henry O’KeefeiD, Thomas David SharkeyiD

Abstract

Isoprene, emitted by some plants, enhances plant abiotic resilience but its role in biotic stress resilience remains elusive. We used tobacco plants engineered to emit isoprene (IE) and the corresponding azygous non-emitting control (NE) to investigate isoprene emission and biotic stress resilience. IE plants were more resistant to insect herbivory than NE plants. Worms preferred to feed on NE rather than IE leaves. IE plants showed less decline in photosynthesis during worm feeding. Insect feeding increased jasmonate levels in IE leaves, suggesting isoprene-mediated priming of the jasmonic acid response. Wound-induced increase in isoprene emission corresponded with elevation of methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate pathway and Calvin-Benson cycle metabolites. The results highlight interactive functions of isoprene and jasmonic acid and advance our understanding of how isoprene emission enhances plant resilience.

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In-depth summary

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Claude Opus 5.5 · xhigh effort · 8 Nov 2026 · from the full text of version 2 (3 Nov 2024) · CC BY 4.0

Tobacco engineered to emit isoprene resisted whiteflies and hornworms, deterred larval feeding, lost less photosynthesis, and produced a stronger jasmonic acid surge after herbivory or wounding.

Isoprene is a metabolically costly volatile known to protect plants against heat, drought and ozone, yet its role in insect defense and the underlying signaling were largely unexplored. Comparing isoprene-emitting transgenic tobacco with an azygous control, this work links emission to herbivore deterrence, stronger jasmonate induction and wound-induced MEP pathway activity, proposing a pest-resistance trait for crops.

Key results

  1. ShownIsoprene-emitting (IE) tobacco hosted fewer whiteflies and lost less leaf area to tobacco hornworms than azygous non-emitting (NE) plants sharing the same pot, and larvae reared on IE plants grew less.

    Whiteflies per cm^2 leaf area lower on IE than NE leaves of 8-w-old co-potted plants (P<0.01, Student's t-test; n=12-15 leaves); after 10 d of feeding from 1st instar, hornworms consumed less IE leaf area (n=3) and larvae on IE plants weighed less (n=15-18). · Isoprene deters whiteflies infestation and…; Figure legends

  2. ShownIn choice tests, hornworm larvae avoided IE leaves and fed preferentially on NE leaves over both short (90 min) and longer (7 d) periods, and larvae taken from IE leaves gained less weight.

    3rd instar larvae ate significantly less IE than NE leaf after 90 min (n=4); video showed one worm spent 26% of recorded time on the IE leaf without feeding, then moved to the NE leaf after 7-8 min; in 7 d box assays, 1st instar larvae ate less IE leaf and those recovered from it weighed less. · Isoprene influences hornworm feeding preference; Figure legends

  3. ShownHornworm feeding lowered stomatal conductance, intercellular CO2 (Ci) and assimilation (A) in undamaged tissue of both genotypes, but IE leaves lost less A and Ci; biochemical limitations did not differ, implicating stomatal control.

    Declines in A and Ci significantly smaller in IE than NE leaves (P<0.05, Student's t-test); dynamic A/Ci curves showed similar rubisco Vcmax, electron transport (J) and triosephosphate use between genotypes (Table S1), with no TPU limitation during feeding. · Change in photosynthetic biochemistry in NE and…; Figure legends

  4. ShownJasmonic acid (JA) rose more strongly in IE than NE leaves 1 h after hornworm feeding and after mechanical wounding, with JA-Ile trending the same way, while SA, SAG and ABA showed no genotype difference; the authors read this as isoprene priming of jasmonate signaling.

    JA undetectable before feeding; post-feeding JA higher in IE vs NE (P<0.01; n=3), JA-Ile P = 0.06; JA likewise higher in IE 1 h post-wounding (P<0.01; n=3); SA undetected in all samples; 10 d after herbivory only ABA differed, being higher in hornworm-fed IE leaves. · Hornworm feeding triggers differential responses…; Change in isoprene emission, metabolic, and…; Figure legends

  5. ShownWounding increased isoprene emission from IE leaves alongside rises in MEP pathway intermediates and, only in IE leaves, in pyruvate and sugar-phosphate/pentose phosphate pathway metabolites, consistent with greater carbon supply to the MEP pathway.

    Emission rose within 1 min of wounding and stabilized after 30 min; MEcDP and HMBDP increased vs unwounded IE controls (P<0.05); DXP trend P = 0.15; MEP and CDP-ME unchanged; pyruvate, G6P/F6P, R5P/Ru5P/Xu5P and 6PG increased in wounded IE but not NE leaves. · Change in isoprene emission, metabolic, and…; Discussion; Figure legends

Methods, data and reproducibility

Homozygous tobacco expressing Populus alba isoprene synthase was compared with azygous non-emitting controls using whitefly counts, no-choice and choice hornworm assays, leaf gas exchange with dynamic A/Ci curves, hormone quantification, wound-induced isoprene emission, and profiling of MEP pathway (LC-MS/MS) and Calvin-Benson cycle metabolites.

  • Whitefly infestation counted per cm^2 leaf area on 8-w-old IE and NE tobacco plants grown together in the same pot · tobacco; whitefly (species not stated) · n = n=12-15 leaves
  • No-choice feeding by 1st instar tobacco hornworms on IE and NE plants for 10 d: leaf consumption and larval weight · tobacco; Manduca sexta · n = n=3 (leaf consumption); n=15-18 (larval weight)
  • Choice assays: 3rd instar larvae on paired IE/NE leaves for 90 min with video recording; 1st instar larvae in boxes with paired leaves for 7 d · tobacco; Manduca sexta · n = n=4 (90 min assay)
  • Gas exchange (A, Ci, gsw) and A/Ci curves on NE and IE leaves during hornworm feeding · tobacco
  • Phytohormones (JA, JA-Ile, SA, SAG, ABA) in NE and IE leaves 1 h after feeding or wounding, and 10 d after herbivory vs unexposed controls · tobacco · n = n=3 (1 h post-feeding and post-wounding)
  • Isoprene emission plus MEP pathway and Calvin-Benson cycle metabolites in wounded vs unwounded leaves · tobacco
Methods & tools
Transgenic tobacco expressing Populus alba isoprene synthase (ISPS), Whitefly infestation counts, No-choice and choice hornworm feeding assays, Real-time video monitoring of larval behavior, Leaf gas exchange (A, Ci, gsw), Dynamic assimilation technique for A/Ci curves, Phytohormone quantification (JA, JA-Ile, SA, SAG, ABA), Metabolite profiling of MEP pathway (LC-MS/MS) and Calvin-Benson cycle intermediates, Isoprene emission measurement after mechanical wounding, Student's t-test
Reproducibility gaps
Data are to be deposited in Dryad, with a DOI promised once available; no code, instrument details or software versions are reported.
Limitations (6)
  • DMADP peaks could not be detected by LC-MS/MS, so the authors can only presume that the rises in MEcDP and HMBDP account for the wound-enhanced isoprene emission. · stated by the authors
  • Short-term hornworm feeding did not noticeably change isoprene emission, so emission and MEP pathway responses were studied under mechanical wounding as a stronger stimulus, not insect feeding. · stated by the authors
  • How JA and isoprene interact in the growth-defense tradeoff (IE plants are stunted relative to NE) remains unclear and needs genetic-level study; the authors separately suggest JA-response mutants such as jai1-1 to probe how JA modulates isoprene signaling. · stated by the authors
  • Introducing isoprene emission into non-emitting crops could increase ozone and aerosol formation; whether the emission magnitude would affect local or global air quality has not been determined. · stated by the authors
  • Many comparisons rest on small samples (n=3 for hormones and leaf consumption, n=4 for the 90 min choice assay) tested with Student's t-tests, and the text does not say how many independent transgenic events were assessed. · noted in this summary
  • Isoprene priming of JA is inferred from correlated hormone levels. No JA-pathway mutants, downstream defense metabolites or exogenous isoprene treatments were tested to establish causality or to separate airborne from internal effects. · noted in this summary

Who should read:Read this if you study plant volatile signaling, jasmonate-mediated insect defense, or engineering isoprene emission into crops as a pest-resistance trait.

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