Plants actively respond to damage with the induction of defences. One of these defences involves emitting volatiles that attract the enemies of the enemies of the plant. Whether downwind neighbouring plants ‘eavesdrop’ on these cues and respond with the induction of their defences too has been debated intensively. Evidence in support of this hypothesis has been accumulating recently, provoking ...

1. Entomopathogenic nematodes can function as indirect defence for plants that are attacked by root herbivores. By releasing volatile organic compounds (VOCs), plants signal the presence of host insects and thereby attract nematodes. 2. Nonetheless, how roots deploy indirect defences, how indirect defences relate to direct defences, and the ecological consequences of root defence allocation for...

Immune defences are an important component of fitness. Yet susceptibility to pathogens is common, suggesting the presence of ecological and evolutionary limitations on immune defences. Here, we use structural equation modelling to quantify the direct effects of resource quality and selection history, and their indirect effects mediated via body condition prior to an immune challenge on encapsul...

Often an attacker tries to disconnect a network by destroying nodes or edges, while the defender counters using various resilience mechanisms. Examples include a music industry body attempting to close down a peer-to-peer file-sharing network; medics attempting to halt the spread of an infectious disease by selective vaccination; and a police agency trying to decapitate a terrorist organisation...

Often an attacker tries to disconnect a network by destroying nodes or edges, while the defender counters using various resilience mechanisms. Examples include a music industry body attempting to close down a peer-to-peer file-sharing network; medics attempting to halt the spread of an infectious disease by selective vaccination; and a police agency trying to decapitate a terrorist organisation...

Ethylene response factors (ERFs) comprise a large family of transcription factors that regulate numerous biological processes including growth, development, and response to environmental stresses. Here, we report that Pti5, an ERF in tomato [Solanum lycopersicum (Linnaeus)] was transcriptionally upregulated in response to the potato aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae (Thomas), and contributed to plan...

Although parasites and their hosts often coexist in a set of environmentally differentiated populations connected by gene flow, few empirical studies have considered a role of environmental variation in shaping correlations between traits of hosts and parasites. Here, we studied for the first time the association between the frequency of adaptive parasitic common cuckoo Cuculus canorus phenotyp...