Journal of Chemical Ecology (1999) 25, 2177-2191

Petru Scutareanu, Yuliang Ma, Magda Claeys, Roger Dommisse and Maurice W. Sabelis (1999)
Induction of a p-coumaroyl trihydroxy triterpene acid in Psylla-infested and mechanically damaged pear trees
Journal of Chemical Ecology 25 (9), 2177-2191
Abstract: The pattern of induction and the chemical structure of phenolic compounds in pear trees (Pyrus communis, cv. Conference) that were either infested by pear leaf suckers Psylla pyricola and P. pyri or mechanically damaged, or both, were studied. Chromatographic (HPLC) and mass spectral analysis performed on extracts of leaf samples collected at various time intervals from trees subjected to three treatments demonstrated the induction (and/or amplification) of a phenolic compound, identified as 3-O-trans-p-coumaroyltormentic acid (I). New mass spectrometric data on this phenolic compound are presented. HPLC revealed different peak patterns in the course of the period of Psylla infestation and the lapse of time since mechanical damage was inflicted, compared to a control tree. The new phenolic compound became apparent after 12 hr and reached the highest level 30 days after damage by pear leaf suckers. It was also observed after 24 hr at lower intensity in samples from a mechanically damaged tree and exclusively on day 30 at very low intensity in the leaf extracts from the uninfested control trees. We conclude that damage by pear leaf suckers, and to a lesser extent also mechanical damage, induce the synthesis of the new, late-eluting phenolic compound. We propose that this compound is involved in plant defense against pear leaf suckers.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): P. Scutareanu, Maurice W. Sabelis

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
resistance/tolerance/defence of host

---

Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Cacopsylla pyri	Pear (Pyrus)
	Cacopsylla pyricola	Pear (Pyrus)