Different responses of two maize cultivars to Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae infestation provide insights into their differences in resistance

Abstract

Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a pest with an amazing appetite, damages many crops and causes great losses, especially maize. Understanding the differences in different maize cultivars’ responses to S. frugiperda infestation is very important for revealing the mechanisms involved in the resistance of maize plants to S. frugiperda. In this study, a comparative analysis of two maize cultivars, the common cultivar ‘ZD958’ and the sweet cultivar ‘JG218’, was used to investigate their physico-biochemical responses to S. frugiperda infestation by a pot experiment. The results showed that the enzymatic and non-enzymatic defense responses of maize seedlings were rapidly induced by S. frugiperda. Frist, the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents of infested maize leaves were significantly increased and then decreased to the level of the control. Furthermore, compared with the control leaves, the puncture force values and the total phenolics, total flavonoids, and 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one contents of infested leaves were significantly increased within a certain time. The superoxide dismutase and peroxidase activities of infested leaves were significantly increased in a certain period of time, while the catalase activities decreased significantly and then increased to the control level. The jasmonic acid (JA) levels of infested leaves were significantly improved, whereas the salicylic acid and abscisic acid levels changed less. Signaling genes associated with phytohormones and defensive substances including PAL4, CHS6, BX12, LOX1, and NCED9 were significantly induced at certain time points, especially LOX1. Most of these parameters changed greater in JG218 than in ZD958. Moreover, the larvae bioassay showed that S. frugiperda larvae weighed more on JG218 leaves than those on ZD958 leaves. These results suggested that JG218 was more susceptible to S. frugiperda than ZD958. Our findings will make it easier to develop strategies for controlling S. frugiperda for sustainable maize production and breeding of new maize cultivars with increased resistance to herbivores.