'Cry for help' gene identified in plants

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Maize plants defend themselves by attracting the enemies of their enemies: caterpillars feeding on the leaf of a corn plant are in turn attacked by a parasitic wasp. Image: University of NeuchtelT. Turlings
Maize plants defend themselves by attracting the enemies of their enemies: caterpillars feeding on the leaf of a corn plant are in turn attacked by a parasitic wasp. Image: University of Neuchâtel/T. Turlings

A genetic mechanism that enables corn plants to "cry for help" and attract beneficial insects has been clarified by scientists from the University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology in Jena. Corn plants emit a cocktail of scents when they are attacked by certain pests, such as a caterpillar known as the Egyptian cotton leaf worm.


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