Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Interactions of Opuntia ficus-indica with Dactylopius coccus and D. opuntiae (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) through the Study of Their Volatile Compounds

Esteban Rodríguez-Leyva
ORCID logo ,
Esperanza García-Pascual
ORCID logo ,
Marco M. González-Chávez
* ,
Santiago de J. Méndez-Gallegos
* ,
Juan A. Morales-Rueda
,
Juan C. Posadas-Hurtado
,
Ángel Bravo-Vinaja
ORCID logo ,
Avelina Franco-Vega
ORCID logo
Version 1 : Received: 29 February 2024 / Approved: 1 March 2024 / Online: 1 March 2024 (14:25:40 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Rodríguez-Leyva, E.; García-Pascual, E.; González-Chávez, M.M.; Méndez-Gallegos, S.J.; Morales-Rueda, J.A.; Posadas-Hurtado, J.C.; Bravo-Vinaja, Á.; Franco-Vega, A. Interactions of Opuntia ficus-indica with Dactylopius coccus and D. opuntiae (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) through the Study of Their Volatile Compounds. Plants 2024, 13, 963. Rodríguez-Leyva, E.; García-Pascual, E.; González-Chávez, M.M.; Méndez-Gallegos, S.J.; Morales-Rueda, J.A.; Posadas-Hurtado, J.C.; Bravo-Vinaja, Á.; Franco-Vega, A. Interactions of Opuntia ficus-indica with Dactylopius coccus and D. opuntiae (Hemiptera: Dactylopiidae) through the Study of Their Volatile Compounds. Plants 2024, 13, 963.

Abstract

Opuntia ficus-indica has always interacted with many phytophagous insects at its center of origin; two of them are Dactylopius coccus and D. opuntiae. D. coccus, or true cochineal, is produced to extract carminic acid, and D. opuntiae or wild cochineal is a key invasive pest of O. ficus-indica in more than 20 countries around the world. Despite the economic and environmental relevance of this cactus and, D. opuntiae and D. coccus, there are few studies that have explored volatile organic compounds (VOCs) derived from the plant-insect interaction. The aim of this work was to determine VOCs of D. coccus and D. opuntiae feeding on cultivars suitable for their development and to identify different VOCs in cladodes infested by each Dactylopius species. Volatiles were identified through their essential oils, which were obtained by hydrodistillation. A total of 66 VOCs from both Dactylopius species were identified, and 125 from the Esmeralda and Rojo Pelón cultivars infested by D. coccus and D. opuntiae, respectively, were determined. Differential VOCs production due to infestation by each Dactylopius species was also found. Some changes in methyl salicylate, terpenes such as linalool or the alcohol p-vinylguaiacol were related to Dactylopius feeding on cladodes of their respective cultivars. Changes in these VOCs and their probable role in plant defense mechanisms should receive more attention because this knowledge could improve D. coccus rearing, or to its inclusion in breeding programs for D. opuntiae control in regions where it is a key pest of O. ficus-indica.

Keywords

Cactus pear; phytophagous insects; terpenes; methyl salicylate; p-vinylguaiacol

Subject

Environmental and Earth Sciences, Ecology

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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