Skip to main content

Objective 3. Assess the protective capacity of the silk surface lipids metabolome against biotic stress

In addition to protecting against abiotic stresses, surface lipids are also thought to protect plants against insects (i.e. biotic stress). In the southern United States, annual yield losses from corn earworm (CEW; Helicoverpa zea [Boddie]) damage range between 1.5 and 16.7% for field corn and up to 50% for sweet corn. Although the chemistry and ultrastructure of the cuticle is thought to have a major impact on resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses, little is understood about the precise components of the surface lipid metabolome that are necessary to provide resistance against these stresses. 

In this objective, the team is conducting corn earworm feeding studies using methodologies developed by Co-PI Abel (Abel et al., 2000).  As a first assessment, we are testing the impact of diets containing silk samples having diverse surface lipid metabolomes on larval weight gain.  These diverse surface lipid metabolomes have been selected from among our set of 660 Intermated B73xMo17 (IBM) isolines, which are also being used within Objectives 1 and 2 of the Maize Surface Lipid project.