Figure 7.

Accumulation of LeAOS, LeHPL, and Inh-II mRNAs in tomato plants in response to herbivory. Tobacco hornworm larvae (third instar) were placed onto the lower leaf of 3-week-old cv Micro-Tom plants and allowed to feed for 5 to 10 min. During this period, approximately 5% to 10% of the area of the attacked leaf was consumed by the larvae. Leaf tissue was harvested for extraction of total RNA immediately after removal of the larvae (0 point) or at the times indicated (in h). RNA was prepared separately from the lower damaged leaf (Local response) and from the third leaf (counted from the base of the plant) (Systemic response). RNA was also prepared from a set of control plants that received no damage (C). Duplicate RNA blots containing 5 μg of RNA per sample were hybridized to cDNA probes for proteinase inhibitor II (Inh-II), LeAOS, LeHPL, and eIF4A as a loading control.