The Experts below are selected from a list of 360 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
André Kessler - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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plant communication in a widespread goldenrod keeping Herbivores on the move
Functional Ecology, 2017Co-Authors: Kimberly Morrell, André KesslerAbstract:Summary Plant communication has been documented in over 35 plant species spanning 16 families to date; however, the underlying mechanisms through which it shapes plants' ecological interactions remain less clear. Using a combination of field/laboratory bioassays, headspace volatile and leaf chemical analyses in tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima), we tested the hypothesis that plant-to-plant communication affects the performance, feeding and movement behaviour of Herbivores by changing plants' chemical phenotypes. We found that plant communication accelerates Herbivore movement between host plants while simultaneously reducing herbivory. This suggests that plant communication can limit Herbivore loads by keeping Herbivores on the move between host plants. We demonstrate that volatile chemicals emitted from Herbivore-attacked plants are sufficient to explain metabolic responses in and ecological consequences for the exposed neighbour plant. Volatile profiles of beetle (Trirhabda virgata)-damaged and undamaged plants show substantial compositional differences, especially in sesquiterpene emission, indicating that these differences have the potential to provide neighbouring plants with specific information about Herbivores in the vicinity. Despite qualitative and phenological differences in plants' metabolic responses to herbivory-induced volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and feeding Herbivores, Herbivores nonetheless respond similarly to directly damaged plants and plants exposed to VOCs from damaged neighbours as if they were of equivalently poor quality. This study suggests that by enlarging the spatial scale at which induced resistance affects the distribution of plant chemical phenotypes in plant populations, VOC-mediated plant communication alters the movement behaviour and performance of Herbivores. A lay summary is available for this article.
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plant chemistry underlies Herbivore mediated inbreeding depression in nature
Ecology Letters, 2013Co-Authors: Stuart A Campbell, Jennifer S Thaler, André KesslerAbstract:The cost of inbreeding (inbreeding depression, ID) is an important variable in the maintenance of reproductive variation. Ecological interactions such as herbivory could modulate this cost, provided that defence traits harbour deleterious mutations and Herbivores are responsible for differences in fitness. In the field, we manipulated the presence of Herbivores on experimentally inbred and outcrossed plants of Solanum carolinense (horsenettle) for three years. Damage was greater on inbred plants, and ID for growth and fitness was significantly greater under herbivory. Inbreeding reduced phenolic expression both qualitatively (phytochemical diversity) and quantitatively, indicating deleterious load at loci related to the biosynthesis of defence compounds. Our results indicate that inbreeding effects on plant–Herbivore interactions are mediated by changes to functional plant metabolites, suggesting that variation in inbreeding could be a predictor of defence trait variation. The magnitude of Herbivore-mediated, ecological ID indicates that Herbivores could maintain outcrossing mating systems in nature.
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Herbivore pressure on goldenrod (Solidago altissima L., Asteraceae): its effects on Herbivore resistance and vegetative reproduction
Journal of Ecology, 2012Co-Authors: Robert Frederick Bode, André KesslerAbstract:Summary 1. Ecological and physiological costs of resistance to herbivory are core concepts in the study of plant–insect interactions, but identifying them remains challenging. These costs are most obvious when trade-offs in resource allocation occur between different growth and resistance traits. 2. We used plant genotypes collected from long-term Herbivore exclusion plots and from plots with natural herbivory. We evaluated putative trade-offs between resistance to two different Herbivore species (the larvae of the beetle Trirhabda virgata and the moth Spodoptera exigua), and between resistance and growth as a potential outcome of differential natural selection. 3. We hypothesized that long-term exclusion of Herbivores would result in differential natural selection on plant resistance traits that are expressed by marked differences in mean resistance between plants from populations with and without Herbivores. The results supported this hypothesis. Genotypes from Herbivore exclusion plots were less resistant to the more common Herbivore in the system, T. virgata, than genotypes from control plots. In contrast, the genotypes from the two herbivory regimes were equally resistant to the rarer S. exigua caterpillars. As a consequence, resistance to one Herbivore species did not correlate with resistance to another, suggesting independent evolution of resistance to multiple Herbivores. 4. Plant growth correlated positively with resistance to Trirhabda, but not to Spodoptera, and only in plants from Herbivore exclusion plots, leading us to reject the hypothesis of a growth resistance trade-off. 5. Synthesis. Our results suggest that correlations between growth and resistance are context dependent and may only be apparent in populations relieved from certain natural pressures, such as in natural populations relieved from natural selection by Herbivores.
Wayne M Getz - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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herbaceous forage and selection patterns by ungulates across varying Herbivore assemblages in a south african savanna
PLOS ONE, 2013Co-Authors: Anna C Treydte, Sabine Baumgartner, Ignas M A Heitkonig, Catharina C Grant, Wayne M GetzAbstract:Herbivores generally have strong structural and compositional effects on vegetation, which in turn determines the plant forage species available. We investigated how selected large mammalian Herbivore assemblages use and alter herbaceous vegetation structure and composition in a southern African savanna in and adjacent to the Kruger National Park, South Africa. We compared mixed and mono-specific Herbivore assemblages of varying density and investigated similarities in vegetation patterns under wildlife and livestock herbivory. Grass species composition differed significantly, standing biomass and grass height were almost twice as high at sites of low density compared to high density mixed wildlife species. Selection of various grass species by Herbivores was positively correlated with greenness, nutrient content and palatability. Nutrient-rich Urochloa mosambicensis Hack. and Panicum maximum Jacq. grasses were preferred forage species, which significantly differed in abundance across sites of varying grazing pressure. Green grasses growing beneath trees were grazed more frequently than dry grasses growing in the open. Our results indicate that grazing Herbivores appear to base their grass species preferences on nutrient content cues and that a characteristic grass species abundance and herb layer structure can be matched with mammalian herbivory types.
Casey R Hall - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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silicon is an inducible and effective Herbivore defence against helicoverpa punctigera lepidoptera noctuidae in soybean
Bulletin of Entomological Research, 2020Co-Authors: Scott N Johnson, Rhiannon C Rowe, Casey R HallAbstract:The role of silicon (Si) in alleviating the effects of biotic and abiotic stresses, including defence against insect Herbivores, in plants is widely reported. Si defence against insect Herbivores is overwhelmingly studied in grasses (especially the cereals), many of which are hyper-accumulators of Si. Despite being neglected, legumes such as soybean (Glycine max) have the capacity to control Si accumulation and benefit from increased Si supply. We tested how Si supplementation via potassium, sodium or calcium silicate affected a soybean pest, the native budworm Helicoverpa punctigera Wallengren (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Herbivory reduced leaf biomass similarly in Si-supplemented (+Si) and non-supplemented (-Si) plants (c. 29 and 23%, respectively) relative to Herbivore-free plants. Both Si supplementation and herbivory increased leaf Si concentrations. In relative terms, Herbivores induced Si uptake by c. 19% in both +Si and -Si plants. All Si treatments reduced H. punctigera relative growth rates (RGR) to a similar extent for potassium (-41%), sodium (-49%) and calcium (-48%) silicate. Moreover, there was a strong negative correlation between Si accumulation in leaves and Herbivore RGR. To our knowledge, this is only the second report of Si-based Herbivore defence in soybean; the rapid increase in leaf Si following herbivory being indicative of an induced defence. Taken together with the other benefits of Si supplementation of legumes, Si could prove an effective Herbivore defence in legumes as well as grasses.
Marco Cosme - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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a fungal endophyte helps plants to tolerate root herbivory through changes in gibberellin and jasmonate signaling
New Phytologist, 2016Co-Authors: Marco Cosme, Matthias Erb, Michael J Stout, Philipp Franken, Susanne WurstAbstract:Plant-microbe mutualisms can improve plant defense, but the impact of root endophytes on below-ground Herbivore interactions remains unknown. We investigated the effects of the root endophyte Piriformospora indica on interactions between rice (Oryza sativa) plants and its root Herbivore rice water weevil (RWW; Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus), and how plant jasmonic acid (JA) and GA regulate this tripartite interaction. Glasshouse experiments with wild-type rice and coi1-18 and Eui1-OX mutants combined with nutrient, jasmonate and gene expression analyses were used to test: whether RWW adult herbivory above ground influences subsequent damage caused by larval herbivory below ground; whether P. indica protects plants against RWW; and whether GA and JA signaling mediate these interactions. The endophyte induced plant tolerance to root herbivory. RWW adults and larvae acted synergistically via JA signaling to reduce root growth, while endophyte-elicited GA biosynthesis suppressed the Herbivore-induced JA in roots and recovered plant growth. Our study shows for the first time the impact of a root endophyte on plant defense against below-ground Herbivores, adds to growing evidence that induced tolerance may be an important root defense, and implicates GA as a signal component of inducible plant tolerance against biotic stress.
Müller Caroline - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Inbreeding diminishes Herbivore-induced metabolic responses in native and invasive plant populations
'Wiley', 2019Co-Authors: Schrieber Karin, Kröner Lutz, Schweiger Rabea, Müller CarolineAbstract:Schrieber K, Kröner L, Schweiger R, Müller C. Inbreeding diminishes Herbivore-induced metabolic responses in native and invasive plant populations. Journal of Ecology. 2019;107(2):923-936.1. Inbreeding and herbivory can interactively reduce the performance of flowering plants. Here, we investigated whether the magnitude of plant inbreeding depression increases under herbivory as a result of diminished leaf metabolic responses to herbivory in inbreds, which entails increased Herbivore growth and feeding damage. We additionally explored whether genetic differentiation among native and invasive plant populations impacts the magnitude and direction of these inbreeding × herbivory interactions. 2. Inbred and outbred plants from eight European (native) and eight North American (invasive) populations of Silene latifolia were exposed to two consecutive control or herbivory treatments (infestation with larvae of Mamestra brassicae). After the first treatment, leaf metabolic responses to herbivory were assessed with untargeted metabolic fingerprinting using UHPLC‐ESI+‐QTOF‐MS/MS. After the second herbivory treatment, Herbivore growth and plant feeding damage were assessed. Moreover, plant performance traits were recorded four weeks after the second herbivory treatment. 3. Metabolic fingerprinting revealed that changes in the pool sizes of various metabolic features in response to herbivory were less intense in inbred than outbred plants from native and invasive populations. While Herbivore growth and feeding damage were largely unaffected by plant breeding status in invasive populations, Herbivores consumed greater biomass from, but showed reduced growth on inbred than outbred native plants. The magnitude of inbreeding depression in plant performance traits was not affected by herbivory, but was partially higher in invasive compared to native populations. 4. Synthesis: The chemical analyses suggest that inbreeding compromises herbivory‐induced metabolic defenses in S. latifolia, while results for Herbivore growth and feeding damage indicate that inbreeding simultaneously reduces the nutritional quality of plants. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that the magnitude and direction of these inbreeding effects can be shaped by genetic differentiation in metabolic responses among native and invasive plants. These range‐specific responses highlight the need to investigate multiple populations with different evolutionary histories to gain a deeper understanding of inbreeding herbivory interactions and provide novel insights into the role of these interactions in invasion success
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Data from: Inbreeding diminishes Herbivore‐induced metabolic responses in native and invasive plant populations
2018Co-Authors: Schrieber Karin, Kröner Lutz, Schweiger Rabea, Müller CarolineAbstract:1. Inbreeding and herbivory can interactively reduce the performance of flowering plants. Here, we investigated whether the magnitude of plant inbreeding depression increases under herbivory as a result of diminished leaf metabolic responses to herbivory in inbreds, which entails increased Herbivore growth and feeding damage. We additionally explored whether genetic differentiation among native and invasive plant populations impacts the magnitude and direction of these inbreeding × herbivory interactions. 2. Inbred and outbred plants from eight European (native) and eight North American (invasive) populations of Silene latifolia were exposed to two consecutive control or herbivory treatments (infestation with larvae of Mamestra brassicae). After the first treatment, leaf metabolic responses to herbivory were assessed with untargeted metabolic fingerprinting using UHPLC‐ESI+‐QTOF‐MS/MS. After the second herbivory treatment, Herbivore growth and plant feeding damage were assessed. Moreover, plant performance traits were recorded four weeks after the second herbivory treatment. 3. Metabolic fingerprinting revealed that changes in the pool sizes of various metabolic features in response to herbivory were less intense in inbred than outbred plants from native and invasive populations. While Herbivore growth and feeding damage were largely unaffected by plant breeding status in invasive populations, Herbivores consumed greater biomass from, but showed reduced growth on inbred than outbred native plants. The magnitude of inbreeding depression in plant performance traits was not affected by herbivory, but was partially higher in invasive compared to native populations. 4. Synthesis: The chemical analyses suggest that inbreeding compromises herbivory‐induced metabolic defenses in S. latifolia, while results for Herbivore growth and feeding damage indicate that inbreeding simultaneously reduces the nutritional quality of plants. Furthermore, our findings demonstrate that the magnitude and direction of these inbreeding effects can be shaped by genetic differentiation in metabolic responses among native and invasive plants. These range‐specific responses highlight the need to investigate multiple populations with different evolutionary histories to gain a deeper understanding of inbreeding × herbivory interactions and provide novel insights into the role of these interactions in invasion success
