Perhaps the time is ripe, with inspiration from a new study at Pennsylvania State University.
Scientists found that a caterpillar called the tomato fruit worm not only chomps on tomatoes and their leaves, but also deposits enzyme-laden saliva on the plant, interfering with its ability to cry for help.
If it all sounds a bit improbable, starting with the concept of plants crying for help, scientists also scoffed at that idea when it was first proposed a few decades ago. But it has been shown time and time again that when under attack, plants can emit chemical distress signals, causing their peers to mount some sort of defense. A classic example is the smell of a freshly mown lawn, which prompts the release of protective compounds in nearby blades of grass that have yet to be cut.
Like a horror movie : Caterpillar silences tomato s cry for help, scientists find | Nation/World
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Sneaky bug saliva silences plant s alarm - ScienceBlog com
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IMAGE: Researchers have discovered that tomato fruitworm caterpillars silence their food plants cries for help as they devour their leaves. view more
Credit: Nick Sloff, Penn State
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. Like a scene from a horror movie, tomato fruitworm caterpillars silence their food plants cries for help as they devour their leaves. That is the finding of a multidisciplinary team of researchers, who said the results may yield insights into the abilities of crop plants such as tomato and soybean to withstand additional stressors, like climate change. We have discovered a new strategy whereby an insect uses saliva to inhibit the release of airborne plant defenses through direct manipulation of plant stomata, said Gary Felton, professor and head of the Department of Entomology at Penn State, noting that stomata are tiny pores on plant leaves that regulate gas exchange, including plant defensive emissions and carbon dioxide, between the plant and the en