α-Farnesene and ocimene induce metabolite changes by volatile signaling in neighboring tea (Camellia sinensis) plants.

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) act as direct defenses against herbivores and as indirect defenses by attracting herbivore enemies. However, the involvement of HIPVs in within-plant or plant-to-plant signaling is not fully clarified. Furthermore, in contrast to model plants, HIPV signaling roles in crops have hardly been reported. Here, we investigated HIPVs emitted from tea (Camellia sinensis) plants, an important crop used for beverages, and their involvement in tea plant-to-plant signaling. To ensure uniform and sufficient exposure to HIPVs, jasmonic acid combined with mechanical damage (JAMD) was used to simulate herbivore attacks. Metabonomics techniques based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry were employed to determine metabolite changes in undamaged tea plants exposed to JAMD-stimulated volatiles. JAMD-stimulated volatiles mainly enhanced the amounts of 1-O-galloyl-6-O-luteoyl-α-d-glucose, assamicain C, 2,3,4,5-tetrahydroxy-6-oxohexyl gallate, quercetagitrin, 2-(2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)-5,7-dihydroxy-4-oxo-4H-chromen-8-yl)-4,5-dihydroxy-6-(hydroxymethyl)-tetrahydro-2H-pyran-3-yl, 3,4-dimethoxybenzoate, 1,3,4,5,6,7-hexahydroxyheptan-2-one, and methyl gallate in neighboring undamaged tea leaves. Furthermore, α-farnesene and β-ocimene, which were produced after JAMD treatments, were identified as two main JAMD-stimulated volatiles altering metabolite profiles of the neighboring undamaged tea leaves. This research advances our understanding of the ecological functions of HIPVs and can be used to develop crop biological control agents against pest insects in the future.