Impact of Helicoverpa zea salivary GOX on stomatal conductance and volatile emission of host plants

This data set contain raw data associated with the manuscript titled "Silencing the alarm: An insect salivary enzyme closes plant stomata and inhibits volatile release". 

Herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) are widely recognized as ecologically important to plant. While the majority of studies focused on the induction of this "cry for help", little is known about whether insect herbivores have evolved mechanisms to reduce the release of HIPVs. Here we show that a caterpillar (Helicoverpa zea) salivary enzyme, glucose oxidase (GOX), commonly secreted on plant leaves causes stomatal closure and reductions in emissions of several HIPVs involved in plant defenses. We found that application of GOX to wounded regions of leaves led to reductions in stomatal conductance on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) and soybean (Glycine max) for at least two days. The role of GOX in reducing stomatal aperture was confirmed using GOX knockout lines of H. zea (CRISPR-Cas9 mutagenesis), and microscopic observations of stomata. In addition, GOX reduced the emission of several HIPVs during feeding by H. zea, including (Z)-3-hexenol, (Z)-jasmone, and (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, which are important air borne signals in plant defenses. Our findings highlight a novel mechanism where insect herbivore reduces the release of HIPVs during feeding by targeting fundamental plant structure (i.e. stomata), and the link between of stomatal dynamics and releases of HIPVs. We demonstrate the existence of HIPVs-interfering mechanisms as a potential evolutionary strategy for insect herbivores to interfere with plant air borne signals.