Chemical Ecology

Plants under attack by herbivores initiate the production and release of volatiles that are attractive to the natural enemies of the herbivores.  Aboveground these volatile signals can attract parasitic wasps and predators that attack and kill the herbivores. Belowground such signals are attractive to insect-killing nematodes. The signals are also perceived by neighboring plants, which may then mobilize their own defenses.  We aim to unravel the chemical and molecular mechanisms that are involved in these interactions, as well as understand their ecological consequences.  By studying cultivated plant and their wild ancestors we hope to develop methods to better exploit the natural defense signals for optimal crop protection.

• Bottom-up control of geographic variation in insect herbivory on wild cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) by plant defenses and climate
  Abdala-Roberts, L; Quijano-Medina, T; Moreira, X; Vazquez-Gonzalez, C; Parra-Tabla, V; Teran, JCBMY; Grandi, L; Glauser, G; Turlings, TCJ; Benrey, B
  AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY, 106 (8):1059-1067; 10.1002/ajb2.1330 AUG 2019
• The Combined Use of an Attractive and a Repellent Sex Pheromonal Component by a Gregarious Parasitoid
  Xu, H; Zhou, GX; Dotterl, S; Schaffler, I; von Arx, M; Roder, G; Degen, T; Chen, L; Turlings, TCJ
  JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY, 45 (7):559-569; 10.1007/s10886-019-01066-4 JUL 2019
• Effects of early-season insect herbivory on subsequent pathogen infection and ant abundance on wild cotton (Gossypium hirsutum)
  Abdala-Roberts, L; Nino, BP; Moreira, X; Parra-Tabla, V; Grandi, L; Glauser, G; Benrey, B; Turlings, TCJ
  JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY, 107 (3):1518-1529; 10.1111/1365-2745.13131 MAY 2019
• Airborne host-plant manipulation by whiteflies via an inducible blend of plant volatiles
  Zhang, PJ; Wei, JN; Zhao, C; Zhang, YF; Li, CY; Liu, SS; Dicke, M; Yu, XP; Turlings, TCJ
  PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 116 (15):7387-7396; 10.1073/pnas.1818599116 APR 9 2019
• Photorhabdus khanii subsp. guanajuatensis subsp. nov., isolated from Heterorhabditis atacamensis, and Photorhabdus luminescens subsp. mexicana subsp. nov., isolated from Heterorhabditis mexicana entomopathogenic nematodes
  Machado, RAR; Bruno, P; Arce, CCM; Liechti, N; Kohler, A; Bernal, J; Bruggmann, R; Turlings, TCJ
  INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SYSTEMATIC AND EVOLUTIONARY MICROBIOLOGY, 69 (3):652-661; 10.1099/ijsem.0.003154 MAR 2019
• Protecting maize from rootworm damage with the combined application of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, Pseudomonas bacteria and entomopathogenic nematodes
  Jaffuel, G; Imperiali, N; Shelby, K; Campos-Herrera, R; Geisert, R; Maurhofer, M; Loper, J; Keel, C; Turlings, TCJ; Hibbard, BE
  SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, 9 10.1038/s41598-019-39753-7 FEB 28 2019
• Molecular detection and quantification of slug parasitic nematodes from the soil and their hosts
  Jaffuel, G; Puza, V; Hug, AS; Meuli, RG; Nermut, J; Turlings, TCJ; Desurmont, GA; Campos-Herrera, R
  JOURNAL OF INVERTEBRATE PATHOLOGY, 160 18-25; 10.1016/j.jip.2018.11.005 JAN 2019
• Can Herbivore-Induced Volatiles Protect Plants by Increasing the Herbivores' Susceptibility to Natural Pathogens?
  Gasmi, L; Martinez-Solis, M; Frattini, A; Ye, M; Collado, MC; Turlings, TCJ; Erb, M; Herrero, S
  APPLIED AND ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY, 85 (1):10.1128/AEM.01468-18 JAN 2019
• The evaluation of entomopathogenic nematode soil food web assemblages across Switzerland reveals major differences among agricultural, grassland and forest ecosystems
  Jaffuel, G; Blanco-Perez, R; Hug, AS; Chiriboga, X; Meuli, RG; Mascher, F; Turlings, TCJ; Campos-Herrera, R
  AGRICULTURE ECOSYSTEMS & ENVIRONMENT, 262 48-57; 10.1016/j.agee.2018.04.008 JUL 15 2018

• Plant-insect interactions
• Induced plant defenses
• Evolutionary ecology of tritrophic interactions
• Assessment of transgenic crops

• Crop protection 
• Applied entomology 
• Agroecology
• Metabolomics
• Biodiversity