Varied response of Spodoptera littoralis against Arabidopsis thaliana with metabolically engineered glucosinolate profiles

► A differential response in Spodoptera littoralis larval feeding patterns was observed on the plants engineered with novel glucosinolates. ► Larvae fed on 35S:CYP79A2 plant engineered to overexpress benzyl glucosinolate showed reduced larval and pupal weights. ► Benzyl isothiocyanate (BITC), a degradation product of benzylglucosinolate may be a potential inhibitor for insect herbivory. ► Virus Induced Gene Silencing (VIGS) was used to silence LOX2 in 35S:CYP79A2 lines to confirm anti-herbivore defense.