Análise da resposta ecológica da cana-de-açúcar (Saccharum sp) em resposta à herbivoria por Diatraea saccharalis

Abstract

The increasing global demand for renewable energy to replace fossil fuels has given great emphasis on sugar cane (Saccharum spp) As this has been considered as the most efficient crop for energy production. Brazil is the largest producer of sugar cane with a production of 652.02 million tonnes in the 2013/2014 season, in an area of 8.1 million hectares. One major barrier to the production of sugar cane is still the attack of pests and diseases. It is estimated that about 10 % of the crop losses to be caused by insects, and the bit of sugar cane (Diatraea saccharalis) the most important. Plants, during evolution, to reduce the damage caused by the attack of insects, have developed a number of defense mechanisms, among them physical, toxic metabolites and volatile metabolites. Many studies have been developed to decipher the mechanisms of defense sugar cane to attack by herbivorous insects in an attempt to support breeding and biotechnology information programs for the development of more resistant plants, but many of these mechanisms still remain to be clarified. This project aimed to evaluate the response of sugar cane in herbivory by Diatraea saccharalis identifying volatile organic compounds, secondary metabolites and proteins produced during the response to the attack. We investigated the possible sequence of a terpene synthase, and Benzoxazinoides (Bx) sugar cane genes and the expression of these genes in the infected plants. Our results show that sugar cane has a systemic response when attacked by the larva Diatraea saccharalis producing β - caryophyllene volatile compound with increased expression of TPs cane putative gene, hydroxamic acid DIMBOA in roots increased with the expression of genes involved in the biosynthesis and defense-related proteins in attempts to inhibit the attack of the larvae and preserve the plant.