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Genetic Engineering of Terpenoid Metabolism Attracts Bodyguards to Arabidopsis
Iris F. Kappers,1,2*Asaph Aharoni,2,3*Teun W. J. M. van Herpen,2Ludo L. P. Luckerhoff,1,2Marcel Dicke,1Harro J. Bouwmeester2
Herbivore-damaged plants release complex mixtures of volatilesthat attract natural enemies of the herbivore. To study therelevance of individual components of these mixtures for predatorattraction, we manipulated herbivory-induced volatiles throughgenetic engineering. Metabolic engineering of terpenoids, whichdominate the composition of many induced plant volatile bouquets,holds particular promise. By switching the subcellular localizationof the introduced sesquiterpene synthase to the mitochondria,we obtained transgenic Arabidopsis thaliana plants emittingtwo new isoprenoids. These altered plants attracted carnivorouspredatory mites (Phytoseiulus persimilis) that aid the plants'defense mechanisms.
1 Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, Post Office Box 8031, 6700 EH Wageningen, Netherlands. 2 Plant Research International, Wageningen University and Research Centre, Post Office Box 16, 6700 AA Wageningen, Netherlands. 3 Weizmann Institute of Science, Post Office Box 26, Rehovot 76100, Israel.
* These authors contributed equally to this work.
To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: harro.bouwmeester{at}wur.nl
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To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: 
