Host Plant Invests in Growth Rather than Chemical Defense When Attacked by a Specialist Herbivore

被引：6

作者：

Arab, Alberto ^{[1
]}

Trigo, Jose Roberto ^{[1
]}

机构：

[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Biol Anim, Lab Ecol Quim, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP, Brazil

来源：

JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL ECOLOGY | 2011年 / 37卷 / 05期

基金：

巴西圣保罗研究基金会;

关键词：

Brugmansia suaveolens; Compensatory growth; Lethal plant defense paradox; Placidina euryanassa; Tropane alkaloids;

D O I：

10.1007/s10886-011-9955-y

中图分类号：

Q5 [生物化学]; Q7 [分子生物学];

学科分类号：

071010 ; 081704 ;

摘要：

Plant defensive compounds may be a cost rather than a benefit when plants are attacked by specialist insects that may overcome chemical barriers by strategies such as sequestering plant compounds. Plants may respond to specialist herbivores by compensatory growth rather than chemical defense. To explore the use of defensive chemistry vs. compensatory growth we studied Brugmansia suaveolens (Solanaceae) and the specialist larvae of the ithomiine butterfly Placidina euryanassa, which sequester defensive tropane alkaloids (TAs) from this host plant. We investigated whether the concentration of TAs in B. suaveolens was changed by P. euryanassa damage, and whether plants invest in growth, when damaged by the specialist. Larvae feeding during 24 hr significantly decreased TAs in damaged plants, but they returned to control levels after 15 days without damage. Damaged and undamaged plants did not differ significantly in leaf area after 15 days, indicating compensatory growth. Our results suggest that B. suaveolens responds to herbivory by the specialist P. euryanassa by investing in growth rather than chemical defense.

引用

页码：492 / 495

页数：4

共 10 条

[1] Scopolamine in Brugmansia suaveolens (Solanaceae):: Defense, allocation, costs, and induced response [J].