SpABCB5

Trichome acylsugar defenses are equally effective against leaf-mining and free-living insects

Trichomes are epidermal projections, crucial components of plant defense systems. Whether these epidermal defenses are effective against leafminers, which infest the internal mesophyll layers, remains unclear. Using the devasting invasive tomato pest, Phthorimaea absoluta (tomato leafminer), and the trichome-rich wild tomato, Solanum pennellii, we demonstrate that trichome produced acylsugars effectively inhibit the growth of endophagous P. absoluta larvae feeding inside leaves.