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1,186 results for “defensiveness”
Olfactory perception of herbivore‐induced plant volatiles elicits counter‐defenses in larvae of the tobacco cutworm
<ol> <li>Herbivore attack leads to increased emission of herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) that protect plants by eliciting direct anti-herbivore defenses and indirect defenses via attraction of natural enemies. Whether herbivorous insects can develop counter-defenses against host plants in response to HIPVs is largely unexplored.</li> <li>Using a directed airflow apparatus, we investigated the influence of HIPVs emitted from tobacco cutworm (<i>Spodoptera litura</i><span>)</span>-infested tomatoes on larval performance on herbivore-pretreated tomatoes vs. untreated tomatoes or on trypsin inhibitor-amended artificial diets vs. unamended diets, as well as the transcriptional responses of HIPV-exposed larvae.</li> <li> <i>S. litura</i> larval<i> </i>feeding on tomato plants led to increased emission of HIPVs. The HIPV-exposed larvae showed significantly increased survival rates and weight gains on both herbivore-pretreated tomato leaves and trypsin inhibitor-supplemented diet but not on untreated tomato leaves and control diets, nor when they had been exposed to HIPVs emitted from <i>spr8</i> mutant plants which barely emit terpenes. These results suggest that larval exposure to HIPVs from wild-type plants enhanced their ability to cope with plant induced defenses. The latter is supported by the observation that larval exposure to HIPVs led to enhanced transcript levels of eight genes encoding cuticle proteins, and seven genes encoding cytochrome P450s, an important class of detoxification enzymes<i>.</i> </li> <li>Our studies revealed a mechanism by which larval olfactory perception of HIPVs elicits counter-defenses that enhance the ability of insect herbivores to withstand host plant chemical defenses.</li> </ol>
Data from: Does parasitoid pressure elicit defensive polyphenism in the green peach aphid?
<p>Aphids are capable of adapting to parasitoid pressure in the absence of sexual reproduction using epigenetically controlled polyphenism. Asexual lineages of aphids could thus become resistant to parasitoids over time and with repeated exposure, hampering biocontrol efforts that rely on parasitoid wasps. Prior to this study, wing polyphenism and reproductive polyphenism had been reported as parasitoid-adaptive responses in asexual lineages of at least two species of aphids, but it remained unclear whether parasitoid exposure could induce other defensive polyphenisms. Using a rigorous, replicated experimental evolution design, we aimed to induce adaptive polyphenisms in the green peach aphid, <i>Myzus persicae </i>Sulzer, through serial exposures of single asexual lines to the parasitoid <i>Aphidius colemani </i>Viereck over four consecutive generations. We attempted to measure changes in parasitoid susceptibility, reproductive schedule, body size, and production of pink or alate offspring compared to aphid control lines not exposed to parasitoids. Despite this consistently strong selective parasitoid pressure, there was no evidence that asexual lineages of <i>M. persicae </i>adapt to parasitoid pressure using adaptive polyphenism. Our data indicate that pseudo-crowding stress – where aphids disturbed by parasitoids or predators wander within a colony, increasing aphid-to-aphid contact and creating the illusion of a more crowded environment – may be necessary for <i>M. persicae </i>to produce defensive polyphenisms in response to parasitoid attack.</p>
Data from: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi mediate herbivore-induction of plant defenses differently above and belowground
Plants are exposed to herbivores and symbionts above and belowground. Herbivores aboveground alter plant defenses in both leaves and roots, affecting plant-herbivore interactions above and belowground. Root symbionts, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), also influence the defenses of leaves and roots, and alter plant responses to herbivory. However, we lack an understanding of how AMF mediate plant responses to herbivores simultaneously in above and belowground plant tissues, despite the ubiquity of such interactions and their consequences for ecological communities. In a full factorial experiment, we subjected plants of four milkweed (Asclepias) species under three levels of AMF inoculum availability to damage by aphids (Aphis nerii), caterpillars (Danaus plexippus), or no herbivores. We then measured foliar and root cardenolides (chemical defenses), leaf toughness, latex exudation (physical defenses), foliar carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous concentrations, plant biomass, and levels of AMF colonization of roots. Plants inoculated with AMF generally produced tougher leaves with higher cardenolide concentrations than did plants without AMF. In contrast, root cardenolides were altered by AMF inoculum availability in a plant species-specific manner. The relative induction or suppression of foliar cardenolides and leaf toughness by herbivores was altered strongly by the level of AMF inoculum available to plants. However, AMF did not influence caterpillar-induction or aphid-suppression of root cardenolides. In addition, herbivore feeding induced substantial changes in levels of AMF colonization of roots in a plant species-specific manner. We demonstrate that the availability of AMF in soil alters herbivore induction and suppression of plant defenses strongly, and does so differently in above and belowground plant tissues. Furthermore, we show that herbivore feeding alters levels of AMF colonization substantially, completing a feedback loop between above and belowground organisms. Our study suggests that indirect interactions between AMF and herbivores may have community-wide consequences by altering plant phenotype both above and belowground.
Data from: Relaxation of herbivore-mediated selection drives the evolution of genetic covariances between plant competitive and defense traits
Insect herbivores are important mediators of selection on traits that impact plant defense against herbivory and competitive ability. Although recent experiments demonstrate a central role for herbivory in driving rapid evolution of defense and competition-mediating traits, whether and how herbivory shapes heritable variation in these traits remains poorly understood. Here, we evaluate the structure and evolutionary stability of the G matrix for plant metabolites that are involved in defense and allelopathy in the tall goldenrod, Solidago altissima. We show that G has evolutionarily diverged between experimentally-replicated populations that evolved in the presence versus the absence of ambient herbivory, providing direct evidence for the evolution of G by natural selection. Specifically, evolution in an herbivore-free habitat altered the orientation of G, revealing a negative genetic covariation between defense- and competition-related metabolites that is typically masked in herbivore-exposed populations. Our results may be explained by predictions of classical quantitative genetic theory, as well as the theory of acquisition-allocation trade-offs. The study provides compelling evidence that herbivory drives the evolution of plant genetic architecture.
Data from: Aposematism in the burying beetle? Dual function of anal fluid in parental care and chemical defense
Burying beetles (Nicrophorus vespilloides) bear distinctive and variable orange-black patterning on their elytra and produce an anal exudate from their abdomen when threatened. During breeding, the anal exudates contribute to the antimicrobial defense of the breeding resource. We investigated whether the anal exudates also provide a responsive chemical defense, which is advertised to potential avian predators by the beetle's orange and black elytral markings. We found that that the orange-black elytral markings of the burying beetle are highly conspicuous for avian predators against range of backgrounds, by using computer simulations. Using bioassays with wood ants, we also showed that the burying beetle's anal exudates are aversive to potential predators. From these results, and other evidence in the literature, we conclude that the evidence for aposematism in the burying beetle is as strong as the evidence for many other classically aposematic species, such as defended Hymenopterans, ladybirds, or poisonous frogs. Nevertheless, we also report unexpectedly high levels of individual variation in coloration and chemical defenses, as well as sex differences. We suggest that this variation might be partly due to conflicting selection pressures, particularly on the dual function of the exudates, and partly to nutritional differences in the developmental environment. The ecology of the burying beetles (Nicrophorus spp.) differs markedly from better-studied aposematic insects. This genus thus offers new potential for understanding the evolution of aposematism in general.
Data from: The ontogeny of plant defense and herbivory: characterizing general patterns using meta-analysis
Defense against herbivores often changes dramatically as plants develop. Hypotheses based on allocation theory and herbivore selection patterns predict that defense should either increase or decrease, respectively, across ontogeny, and previous research partly supports both predictions. Thus, it remains unclear which pattern is more common and what factors contribute to variability among studies. We conducted a meta-analysis of 116 published studies reporting ontogenetic patterns in plant defense traits and herbivory. Patterns varied depending on plant life form (woody, herbaceous, grass), type of herbivore (insect, mollusk, mammal), and type of defense trait (secondary chemistry, physical defense, tolerance). In woody plants, chemical defense increased during the seedling stage, followed by an increase in physical defenses during the vegetative juvenile stage. Mammalian herbivores showed a strong preference for mature compared to juvenile tissues in woody plants. Herbs experienced a significant increase in secondary chemistry across the entire ontogenetic trajectory, although the magnitude of increase was greatest during the seedling stage. Correspondingly, mollusks preferred young compared to older herbs. Future research investigating growth/defense trade-offs, allometry, herbivore selection patterns, and ecological costs, would shed light on the mechanisms driving the ontogenetic patterns observed.
Data from: Evolution of plant growth and defense in a continental introduction
Substantial research has addressed adaptation of nonnative biota to novel environments, yet surprisingly little work has integrated population genetic structure and the mechanisms underlying phenotypic differentiation in ecologically important traits. We report on studies of the common milkweed Asclepias syriaca, which was introduced from North America to Europe over the past 400 years and which lacks most of its specialized herbivores in the introduced range. Using 10 populations from each continent grown in a common environment, we identified several growth and defense traits that have diverged, despite low neutral genetic differentiation between continents. We next developed a Bayesian modeling approach to account for relationships between molecular and phenotypic differences, confirming that continental trait differentiation was greater than expected from neutral genetic differentiation. We found evidence that growth-related traits adaptively diverged within and between continents. Inducible defenses triggered by monarch butterfly herbivory were substantially reduced in European populations, and this reduction in inducibility was concordant with altered phytohormonal dynamics, reduced plant growth, and a trade-off with constitutive investment. Freedom from the community of native and specialized herbivores may have favored constitutive over induced defense. Our replicated analysis of plant growth and defense, including phenotypically plastic traits, suggests adaptive evolution following a continental introduction.
Data from: Tadpole body size and behavior alter the social acquisition of a defensive bacterial symbiont
Individual differences in host phenotypes can generate heterogeneity in the acquisition and transmission of microbes. Although this has become a prominent factor of disease epidemiology, host phenotypic variation might similarly underlie the transmission of microbial symbionts that defend against pathogen infection. Using green frog (Lithobates clamitans) tadpoles, we test whether body size and behavior influence the social acquisition of a skin bacterium, Janthinobacterium lividum, which in some hosts can confer protection against infection by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, the causative agent of the amphibian skin disease chytridiomycosis. We measured body size and boldness (time spent in an open field) of green frog tadpoles and haphazardly constructed groups of six individuals. In some groups we exposed one individual in each group to J. lividum and, in other groups, we inoculated a patch of aquarium pebbles to J. lividum. After 24hr, we swabbed each individual to estimate the presence of J. lividum on their skin. On average, tadpoles acquired nearly four times more bacteria when housed with an exposed individual compared to those housed with a patch of inoculated substrate. When tadpoles were housed with an exposed group-mate, larger and "bolder" individuals acquired more bacteria. These data suggest that phenotypically-biased acquisition of defensive symbionts might generate biased patterns of mortality from the pathogens against which they protect.
Data from: Weaponry and defenses in fighting animals: how allometry can alter predictions from contest theory
Theoretical models have been developed to understand how animals decide to withdraw from a contest. They provide testable predictions regarding the relationship between resource holding potential (RHP) and contest duration that assume linear relationships among RHP traits. However, RHP traits might scale with body size according to power laws. Furthermore, investment across different RHP traits may vary. Herein, we provide a model that encompasses the allometric relationship between body size and other RHP traits. First, we partition RHP traits into "offensive" traits (i.e., the ability to inflict damage) and "defensive" traits (i.e., persistence in a contest). Defensive traits may in turn be subdivided into "damage endurance" (DE) or the ability to absorb damage and "stamina." We then model scenarios where: 1) there are power relationships among RHP traits; 2) individuals invest differently in defensive and offensive traits; 3) offensive traits and DE have a positive/negative relationship with body size. We modeled sized-matched injurious contests where 1) offensive capacity (OC) increases superlinearly with body size, 2) DE increases superlinearly, and 3) OC increases superlinearly but DE increases sublinearly. Our analyses indicate that if RHP traits scale linearly current predictions are upheld for injurious contests—contest duration increases with body size. However, with power relationships we can expect nonlinear relationships. Here, contest duration increased with body size until a maximum, decreasing afterwards. Thus, considering allometric relationships between body size and RHP traits may lead to new insights in animal contest theory and may help to solve discrepancies between current theory and empirical data.
Data from: Little to fear: largest lizard predator induces weak defense responses in ungulate prey
Non-consumptive effects can strongly influence apex predator ecological function. These effects arise because prey produce often induce costly phenotypic responses to mitigate predation risk. Yet because predator-prey interactions are complex, prey defences may vary considerably. We investigated if the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), an reptile apex predator, induced multi-scale anti-predator responses in key prey, the Rusa deer (Cervus timorensis) and the wild pig (Sus scrofa). To this end, we examined the temporal and spatial partitioning of habitats by predator and prey, determined the size of ungulate groups as a function of risk, and assessed changes in individual behavior of prey individuals exposed to predator kairomones at feeding stations. Komodo dragon, deer and pig populations exhibited significant, but subtle differences in three habitat preferences, that otherwise indicated high niche overlap. Komodo dragon predation risk, alongside other commonly considered predictor variables did not affect deer or pig group size. With the exception of one individual-based vigilance type behavior in pigs, no other anti-predator behavior, including reduced food consumption, significantly varied in the presence of predator odour cue at feeding stations. Overall our results indicated limited evidence for anti-predator behavior and suggest Komodo dragons exert weak non-consumptive effects of predation in ungulates. However, weak predatory interactions could be beneficial in island ecosystems as it could promote predator-prey co-existence that reduces extinction risk.
Data from: A free lunch? No cost for acquiring defensive plant pyrrolizidine alkaloids in a specialist arctiid moth (Utetheisa ornatrix)
Many herbivorous insects sequester defensive chemicals from their host plants. We tested sequestration fitness costs in the specialist moth Utetheisa ornatrix (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae). We added pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) to an artificial diet at different concentrations. Of all the larval and adult fitness components measured, only development time was negatively affected by PA concentration. These results were repeated under stressful laboratory conditions. On the other hand, the amount of PAs sequestered greatly increased with the diet PA concentration. Absence of a detectable negative effect does not necessarily imply a lack of costs if all individuals express the biochemical machinery of detoxification and sequestration constitutively. Therefore, we used qPCR to show that expression of the gene used to detoxify PAs, pyrrolizidine-alkaloid-N-oxygenase (pno), increased 41-fold in our highest PA treatment. Nevertheless, fitness components were affected only slightly or not at all, suggesting that sequestration in this species does not incur a strong cost. The apparent lack of costs has important implications for our understanding of the evolution of ecological interactions; for example, it implies that selection by specialist herbivores may decrease the levels of certain chemical defense in plant populations.
Data from: Pollen feeding, resource allocation and the evolution of chemical defense in passion vine butterflies
Evolution of pollen feeding in Heliconius has allowed exploitation of rich amino acid sources and dramatically reorganized life history traits. In Heliconius eggs are produced mainly from adult acquired resources, leaving somatic development and maintenance to larva effort. This innovation may also have spurred evolution of chemical defense via amino acid-derived cyanogenic glycosides. By contrast, non-pollen feeding heliconiines must rely almost exclusively on larval-acquired resources for both reproduction and defense. We tested whether adult amino acid intake has an immediate influence on cyanogenesis in Heliconius. Because Heliconius are more distasteful to bird predators than close relatives that do not utilize pollen we also compared cyanogenesis due to larval input across Heliconius species and non-pollen-feeding relatives. Except for one species, we found that varying the amino acid diet of an adult Heliconius has negligible effect on its cyanide concentration. Adults denied amino acids showed no decrease in cyanide and no adults showed cyanide increase when fed amino acids. Yet, pollen-feeding butterflies were capable of producing more defense than non-pollen feeding relatives and differences were detectable in freshly emerged adults, before input of adult resources. Our data points to a larger role of larval input in adult chemical defense. This, coupled with the compartmentalization of adult nutrition to reproduction and longevity suggests that one evolutionary consequence of pollen feeding, shifting the burden of reproduction to adults, is to allow the evolution of greater allocation of host plant amino acids to defensive compounds by larvae.
Data from: Cheaper isn't always worse: more protective isolates of a defensive symbiont are less costly to the aphid host
Defences against parasites are typically associated with costs to the host that contribute to the maintenance of variation in resistance. This also applies to the defence provided by the facultative bacterial endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa, which protects its aphid hosts against parasitoid wasps while imposing life-history costs. To investigate the cost–benefit relationship within protected hosts, we introduced multiple isolates of H. defensa to the same genetic backgrounds of black bean aphids, Aphis fabae, and we quantified the protection against their parasitoid Lysiphlebus fabarum as well as the costs to the host (reduced lifespan and reproduction) in the absence of parasitoids. Surprisingly, we observed the opposite of a trade-off. Strongly protective isolates of H. defensa reduced lifespan and lifetime reproduction of unparasitized aphids to a lesser extent than weakly protective isolates. This finding has important implications for the evolution of defensive symbiosis and highlights the need for a better understanding of how strain variation in protective symbionts is maintained.
Data from: Rapid evolution of antioxidant defense in a natural population of Daphnia magna
Natural populations can cope with rapid changes in stressors by relying on sets of physiological defense mechanisms. Little is known onto what extent these physiological responses reflect plasticity and/or genetic adaptation, evolve in the same direction and result in an increased defense ability. Using resurrection ecology, we studied how a natural Daphnia magna population adjusted its antioxidant defense to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) during a period with increasing incident UVR reaching the water surface. We demonstrate rapid evolution of the induction patterns of key antioxidant enzymes under UVR exposure in the laboratory. Notably, evolutionary changes strongly differed among enzymes and mainly involved the evolution of UV-induced plasticity. While D. magna evolved a strong plastic upregulation of glutathione peroxidase under UVR, it evolved a lower plastic upregulation of glutathione S-transferase and superoxide dismutase, and a plastic downregulation of catalase. The differentially evolved antioxidant strategies were collectively equally effective in dealing with oxidative stress since they resulted in the same high levels of oxidative damage (to lipids, proteins and DNA) and lowered fitness (intrinsic growth rate) under UVR exposure. The lack of better protection against UVR may suggest that the UVR exposure did not increase between both periods. Predator-induced evolution to migrate to lower depths that occurred during the same period may have contributed to the evolved defense strategy. Our results highlight the need for a multiple trait approach when focusing on the evolution of defense mechanisms.
Land use impacts poison frog chemical defenses through changes in leaf litter ant communities
<p>Much of the world's biodiversity is held within tropical rainforests, which are increasingly fragmented by agricultural practices. In these threatened landscapes, there are many organisms that acquire chemical defenses from their diet and are therefore intimately connected with their local food webs. Poison frogs (Family Dendrobatidae) are one such example, as they acquire alkaloid-based chemical defenses from their diet of leaf litter ants and mites. It is currently unknown how habitat fragmentation impacts chemical defense across trophic levels, from arthropods to frogs. We examined the chemical defenses and diets of the Diablito poison frog (Oophaga sylvatica), and the diversity of their leaf litter ant communities in secondary forest and reclaimed cattle pasture. Notably, this research was performed in collaboration with two high school science classrooms. We found that the leaf litter of forest and pasture frog habitats differed significantly in ant community structure. We also found that forest and pasture frogs differed significantly in diet and alkaloid profiles, where forest frogs contained more of specific alkaloids and ate more ants in both number and volume. Finally, ant species composition of frog diets resembled the surrounding leaf litter, but diets were less variable. This suggests that frogs tend to consume particular ant species within each habitat. To better understand how ants contribute to the alkaloid chemical profiles of frogs, we chemically profiled several ant species and found some alkaloids to be common across many ant species while others are restricted to a few species. Our experiments are the first to link anthropogenic land use changes to dendrobatid poison frog chemical defenses through variation in leaf litter communities, which has implications for conservation management of these threatened amphibians.</p>
Data from: Addicted? Reduced host resistance in populations with defensive symbionts
Heritable symbionts that protect their hosts from pathogens have been described in a wide range of insect species. By reducing the incidence or severity of infection, these symbionts have the potential to reduce the strength of selection on genes in the insect genome that increase resistance. Therefore, the presence of such symbionts may slow down the evolution of resistance. Here we investigated this idea by exposing Drosophila melanogaster populations to infection with the pathogenic Drosophila C virus (DCV) in the presence or absence of Wolbachia, a heritable symbiont of arthropods that confers protection against viruses. After nine generations of selection, we found that resistance to DCV had increased in all populations. However, in the presence of Wolbachia the resistant allele of pastrel—a gene that has a major effect on resistance to DCV—was at a lower frequency than in the symbiont-free populations. This finding suggests that defensive symbionts have the potential to hamper the evolution of insect resistance genes, potentially leading to a state of evolutionary addiction where the genetically susceptible insect host mostly relies on its symbiont to fight pathogens.
Data from: Increased growth in sunflower correlates with reduced defenses and altered gene expression in response to biotic and abiotic stress
Cultivated plants have been selected by humans for increased yield in a relatively benign environment, where nutrient and water resources are often supplemented, and biotic enemy loads are kept artificially low. Agricultural weeds have adapted to this same benign environment as crops, and often have high growth and reproductive rates, even though they have not been specifically selected for yield. Considering the competing demands for resources in any plant, a key question is whether adaptation to agricultural environments has been accompanied by life-history trade-offs, in which resistance to (largely absent) stress has been lost in favor of growth and reproduction. The experiments reported here were designed to test for growth-defense trade-offs in agricultural weeds, crops, and native varieties of common sunflower (Helianthus annuus L., Asteraceae) by comparing their performance in the presence or absence of abiotic (drought and crowding) or biotic (simulated herbivory, insect herbivory, and fungal) stress. We found that growth, as well viability of crops and weeds, were reduced by abiotic drought stress. The weakened defense in the agricultural genotypes was further evident as increased susceptibility to fungal infection and higher level of insect palatability. To uncover molecular mechanisms underlying these trade-offs we monitored gene expression kinetics in drought-stressed plants. By correlating phenotypic observations with molecular analyses, we report the identification of several genes, including a protein phosphatase 2C and the HD-Zip transcription factor Athb-8, whose expression is associated with the observed phenotypic variation in common sunflower.
Data from: Effect of cadmium accumulation on the performance of plants and of herbivores that cope differently with organic defenses
Some plants are able to accumulate in their shoots metals at levels that are toxic to most other organisms. This ability may serve as a defence against herbivores. Therefore, both metal-based and organic defences may affect herbivores. However, how metal accumulation affects the interaction between herbivores and organic plant defences remains overlooked. To fill this gap, we studied the interactions between tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), a model plant that accumulates cadmium, and two spidermite species, Tetranychus urticae and Tetranychus evansi that, respectively, induce and suppress organic plant defences, measurable via the activity of trypsin inhibitors. We exposed plants to different concentrations of cadmium and measured its effects on mites and plants. In the plant, despite clear evidence for cadmium accumulation, we did not detect any cadmium effects on traits that reflect the general response of the plant, such as biomass, water content, and carbon/nitrogen ratio. Still, we found effects of cadmium upon the quantity of soluble sugars and on leaf reflectance, where it may indicate structural modifications in the cells. These changes in plant traits affected the performance of spider mites feeding on those plants. Indeed, the oviposition of both spider mite species was higher on plants exposed to low concentrations of cadmium than on control plants, but decreased at concentrations above 0.5 mM. Therefore, herbivores with contrasting responses to organic defences showed a similar hormetic response to metal accumulation by the plants. Additionally, we show that the induction and suppression of plant defences by these spider-mite species was not affected by the amount of cadmium supplied to the plants. Furthermore, the effect of cadmium on the performance of spider mites was not altered by infestation with T. urticae or T. evansi. Together, our results suggest no interaction between cadmium-based and organic plant defences, on our system. This character may be useful for plants living in heterogeneous environments, as they may use one or the other defence mechanism, depending on their relative performance in each environment.
Data from: Combined effects of mutualistic rhizobacteria counteract virus-induced suppression of indirect plant defenses in soybean
It is increasingly clear that microbial plant symbionts can influence interactions between their plant hosts and other organisms. Yet, such effects remain poorly understood, particularly under ecologically realistic conditions where plants simultaneously interact with diverse mutualists and antagonists. Here we examine how the effects of a plant virus on indirect plant defenses against its insect vector are influenced by co-occurrence of other microbial plant symbionts. Using a multi-factorial design, we manipulated colonization of soybean using three different microbes: a pathogenic plant virus (Bean pod mottle virus [BPMV]), a nodule-forming beneficial rhizobacterium (Bradyrhizobium japonicum), and a plant growth-promoting rhizobacterium (PGPR) (Delftia acidovorans). We then assessed recruitment of parasitoids (Pediobious foveolatus [Eulophidae]) and parasitism rates following feeding by the BPMV vector Epilachna varivestis (Coccinellidae). BPMV infection suppressed parasitoid recruitment, prolonged parasitoid foraging time, and reduced parasitism rates in semi-natural foraging assays. However, simultaneous colonization of BPMV-infected hosts by both rhizobacteria restored parasitoid recruitment and rates of parasitism to levels similar to uninfected controls. Co-colonization by the two rhizobacteria also enhanced parasitoid recruitment in the absence of BPMV infection. These results illustrate the potential of plant-associated microbes to influence indirect plant defenses, with implications for disease transmission and herbivory, but also highlight the potential complexity of such interactions.
Data from: Geographic structure and adaptive population differentiation in herbivore defense genes in European aspen (Populus tremula L., Salicaceae)
When a phenotypic trait is subjected to spatially variable selection and local adaptation, the underlying genes controlling the trait are also expected to show strong patterns of genetic differentiation because alternative alleles are favoured in different geographical locations. Here, we study 71 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from seven genes associated with inducible defence responses in a sample of Populus tremula collected from across Sweden. Four of these genes (PPO2, TI2, TI4 and TI5) show substantial population differentiation, and a principal component analyses conducted on the defence SNPs divides the Swedish population into three distinct clusters. Several defence SNPs show latitudinal clines, although these were not robust to multiple testing. However, five SNPs (located within TI4 and TI5) show strong longitudinal clines that remain significant after multiple test correction. Genetic geographical variation, supporting local adaptation, has earlier been confirmed in genes involved in the photoperiod pathway in P. tremula, but this is, to our knowledge, one of the first times that geographical variation has been found in genes involved in plant defence against antagonists.
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