Plant defense responses induced by insect herbivory

Plants respond to insect herbivory with a myriad of inducible responses, broadly categorized as direct defenses and indirect defenses. Herbivore-induced plant direct defenses include the production of toxic metabolites and proteins. Direct defenses can negatively affect a herbivore's physiology, but exact large resource demands on plant metabolism. Plants can also defend themselves against herbivores indirectly by emitting specific blends of volatiles that attract carnivorous natural enemies. Herbivore-induced plant volatiles can be triggered by some insect specific elicitors. Multiple signaling transduction pathways are involved in plant defense responses to insect herbivores, and they can interact with each other, either synergistically or antagonistically. Understanding herbivore-induced plant responses can provide important information for the complement of integrated pest management tactics.