Figure 1.

Molecular events in N. attenuata after attack from M. sexta. Putative receptors in N. attenuata bind FACs present in the OS of M. sexta larvae. SIPK and WIPK, two MAPKs, are activated within minutes of the initiation of feeding. SIPK and WIPK regulate transcript levels of a number of transcription factors, which, in turn, mediate the transcript levels of genes encoding phytohormone biosynthetic enzymes or directly regulate the stability or activity of the enzymes by phosphorylation. The increased levels of phytohormones lead to changes in the transcript levels of transcription factors that regulate the transcript levels of genes involved in secondary metabolite biosyntheses. Red arrows, Direct interactions, e.g. phosphorylation; green arrows, transcriptional regulation; blue arrows, biosynthesis pathways.