A below-ground herbivore shapes root defensive chemistry in natural plant populations.
نویسندگان
چکیده
Plants display extensive intraspecific variation in secondary metabolites. However, the selective forces shaping this diversity remain often unknown, especially below ground. Using Taraxacum officinale and its major native insect root herbivore Melolontha melolontha, we tested whether below-ground herbivores drive intraspecific variation in root secondary metabolites. We found that high M. melolontha infestation levels over recent decades are associated with high concentrations of major root latex secondary metabolites across 21 central European T. officinale field populations. By cultivating offspring of these populations, we show that both heritable variation and phenotypic plasticity contribute to the observed differences. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the production of the sesquiterpene lactone taraxinic acid β-D-glucopyranosyl ester (TA-G) is costly in the absence, but beneficial in the presence of M. melolontha, resulting in divergent selection of TA-G. Our results highlight the role of soil-dwelling insects for the evolution of plant defences in nature.
منابع مشابه
Inducible Plant Responses Linking Above- and Below-ground Herbivory: Ecological Significance and Underlying Mechanisms
Title: INDUCIBLE PLANT RESPONSES LINKING ABOVEAND BELOW-GROUND HERBIVORY: ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE AND UNDERLYING MECHANISMS Ian Kaplan, Doctor of Philosophy, 2007 Directed By: Professor Robert F. Denno, Department of Entomology Aboveand below-ground organisms can indirectly affect one another via several recently-described mechanisms, one such mechanism being herbivore-induced plant responses. ...
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ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Proceedings. Biological sciences
دوره 283 1827 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2016