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  • Publication
    Accès libre
    The role of abscisic acid and water stress in root herbivore-induced leaf resistance
    (2011) ;
    Köllner, Tobias G.
    ;
    Degenhardt, Jörg
    ;
    ;
    Hibbard, Bruce E.
    ;

    Herbivore-induced systemic resistance occurs in many plants and is commonly assumed to be adaptive. The mechanisms triggered by leaf-herbivores that lead to systemic resistance are largely understood, but it remains unknown how and why root herbivory also increases resistance in leaves.
    To resolve this, we investigated the mechanism by which the root herbivore Diabrotica virgifera induces resistance against lepidopteran herbivores in the leaves of Zea mays.
    Diabrotica virgifera infested plants suffered less aboveground herbivory in the field and showed reduced growth of Spodoptera littoralis caterpillars in the laboratory. Root herbivory did not lead to a jasmonate-dependent response in the leaves, but specifically triggered water loss and abscisic acid (ABA) accumulation. The induction of ABA by itself was partly responsible for the induction of leaf defenses, but not for the resistance against S. littoralis. Root-herbivore induced hydraulic changes in the leaves, however, were crucial for the increase in insect resistance.
    We conclude that the induced leaf resistance after root feeding is the result of hydraulic changes, which reduce the quality of the leaves for chewing herbivores. This finding calls into question whether root-herbivore induced leaf-resistance is an evolved response.
  • Publication
    Accès libre
    Sequence of arrival determines plant-mediated interactions between herbivores
    (2011) ;
    Robert, Christelle Aurélie Maud
    ;
    Hibbard, Bruce E.
    ;

    1. Induced changes in plant quality can mediate indirect interactions between herbivores. Although the sequence of attack by different herbivores has been shown to influence plant responses, little is known about how this affects the herbivores themselves.
    2. We therefore investigated how induction by the leaf herbivore Spodoptera frugiperda influences resistance of teosinte (Zea mays mexicana) and cultivated maize (Zea mays mays) against root-feeding larvae of Diabrotica virgifera virgifera. The importance of the sequence of arrival was tested in the field and laboratory.
    3. Spodoptera frugiperda infestation had a significant negative effect on colonization by D. virgifera larvae in the field and weight gain in the laboratory, but only when S. frugiperda arrived on the plant before the root herbivore. When S. frugiperda arrived after the root herbivore had established, no negative effects on larval performance were detected. Yet, adult emergence of D. virgifera was reduced even when the root feeder had established first, indicating that the negative effects were not entirely absent in this treatment.
    4. The defoliation of the plants was not a decisive factor for the negative effects on root herbivore development, as both minor and major leaf damage resulted in an increase in root resistance and the extent of biomass removal was not correlated with root-herbivore growth. We propose that leaf-herbivore-induced increases in feeding-deterrent and/or toxic secondary metabolites may account for the sequence-specific reduction in root-herbivore performance.
    5. Synthesis. Our results demonstrate that the sequence of arrival can be an important determinant of plant-mediated interactions between insect herbivores in both wild and cultivated plants. Arriving early on a plant may be an important strategy of insects to avoid competition with other herbivores. To fully understand plant-mediated interactions between insect herbivores, the sequence of arrival should be taken into account.