Geographic variation in feeding preference of a generalist herbivore: the importance of seaweed chemical defenses

Oecologia ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 172 (4) ◽  
pp. 1071-1083 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amanda T. McCarty ◽  
Erik E. Sotka
Keyword(s):  
Geographic Variation ◽  
Feeding Preference ◽  
Chemical Defenses ◽  
Generalist Herbivore

scholarly journals Herbivore feeding behavior validates optimal defense theory for specialized metabolites within plants

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pascal Hunziker ◽  
Sophie Konstanze Lambertz ◽  
Konrad Weber ◽  
Christoph Crocoll ◽  
Barbara Ann Halkier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Behavior ◽  
Feeding Preference ◽  
Optimal Defense Theory ◽  
Generalist Herbivore ◽  
Optimal Defense ◽  
Specialized Metabolites ◽  
Physiological Evidence ◽  
Young Leaves ◽  
Plant Metabolite ◽  
Defense Theory

Numerous plants protect themselves from attackers using specialized metabolites. The biosynthesis of these deterrent, often toxic metabolites is costly, as their synthesis diverts energy and resources on account of growth and development. How plants diversify investments into growth and defense is explained by the optimal defense theory. The central prediction of the optimal defense theory is that plants maximize growth and defense by concentrating specialized metabolites in tissues that are decisive for fitness. To date, supporting physiological evidence merely relies on the correlation between plant metabolite distribution and animal feeding preference. Here, we use glucosinolates as a model to examine the effect of changes in chemical defense distribution on actual feeding behavior. Taking advantage of the uniform glucosinolate distribution in transporter mutants, we show that high glucosinolate accumulation in tissues important to fitness protects them by guiding larvae of a generalist herbivore to feed on other tissues. Moreover, we show that mature leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana supply young leaves with glucosinolates to optimize defense against herbivores. Our study provides physiological evidence for the central hypothesis of the optimal defense theory and sheds light on the importance of integrating glucosinolate biosynthesis and transport for optimizing plant defense.

scholarly journals Strong feeding preference of an exotic generalist herbivore for an exotic forb: a case of invasional antagonism

2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3025-3031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly J. La Pierre ◽  
W. Stanley Harpole ◽  
Katharine N. Suding
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Preference ◽  
Generalist Herbivore

scholarly journals Chemotaxis and chemical defenses in seaweed susceptibility to herbivory

2000 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 405-414 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. C. PEREIRA ◽  
R. DONATO ◽  
V. L. TEIXEIRA ◽  
D. N. CAVALCANTI
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Defense ◽  
Brown Alga ◽  
Sea Urchins ◽  
Feeding Preference ◽  
Chemical Defenses ◽  
Feeding Deterrent ◽  
Limited Mobility ◽  
Dictyota Menstrualis ◽  
Close Relationship ◽  
Herbivore Species

Recent studies have show that small marine herbivores with limited mobility (mesograzers) often feed on macroalgae chemically defended against fishes or sea-urchins. In order to verify the involved mechanisms of chemotaxis or chemical defense into this process in Brazilian littoral, two species of brown alga Dictyota menstrualis and Dictyota mertensii were studied against the limited mobility herbivores, the amphipod Parhyale hawaiensis and the crab Pachygrapsus transversus. These two species were studied in order to verify the action of their crude extracts in the defense and chemotaxis processes related to limited mobility of these herbivores. Feeding preference assays revealed that P. hawaiensis do not eaten these Dictyota species. P. transversus do not eaten D. menstrualis either, but consumed large amounts of D. mertensii. Chemical deterrence assays showed that extracts of these species act as feeding deterrent to both species of herbivores. In addition, chemotaxis assays demonstrated that both herbivores are significantly negative chemotactic probably due to the presence of complementary metabolites into artificial foods. Considering that both Dictyota species exhibit active extracts against these small herbivores, we suppose that the non-occurrence of these herbivore species in close relationship with the seaweeds D. menstrualis and D. mertensii may explain the defense action of both extracts related to these mesograzers.

The suitability of leaves from different canopy layers for a generalist herbivore (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) foraging on sugar maple

2002 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 379-389 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michel Fortin ◽  
Yves Mauffette
Keyword(s):  
Acer Saccharum ◽  
Sugar Maple ◽  
Feeding Preference ◽  
Vertical Stratification ◽  
Malacosoma Disstria ◽  
Controlled Environment ◽  
Tree Crown ◽  
Forest Canopies ◽  
Generalist Herbivore ◽  
Biological Performance

Variations of leaf suitability within forest canopies may have important consequences for the biology of phytophagous insects. In this study we examined over 4 consecutive years (1994–1997), the influence of vertical stratification of leaves within a sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) stand on biological performance and feeding preference of Malacosoma disstria Hbn. Each year, 10 healthy sugar maple trees and about 15 understory sugar maple seedlings were selected. Leaves were collected from the lower (3–6 m above ground) and the upper crown (20–25 m above ground) sections of the trees and from seedlings. Sampled leaves were set in Petri dishes for insect rearings in controlled environment. The performance of the insect, especially pupal masses and the number of eggs of adult females, was higher when larvae were fed with leaves from the upper crown section of trees. Results for the feeding preference tests showed that larvae of fourth instars consumed more surface area from leaves collected in the upper crown section of the trees. More total nitrogen found in leaves from the upper tree crown could explain the higher performance of this insect. Our results confirm the importance of the heterogeneity in leaf suitability along a vertical stratification in forests by its influence on biological performance and feeding preference of M. disstria.

scholarly journals So Much for Glucosinolates: A Generalist Does Survive and Develop on Brassicas, but at What Cost?

Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 962
Author(s):  
Verena Jeschke ◽  
Jacinta M. Zalucki ◽  
Bettina Raguschke ◽  
Jonathan Gershenzon ◽  
David G. Heckel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Free Amino ◽  
Larval Growth ◽  
Chemical Defenses ◽  
Metabolic Effects ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Nutritional Properties ◽  
Generalist Herbivore ◽  
Chemical Defences ◽  
Biochemical Effects ◽  
Low Protein

While plants produce complex cocktails of chemical defences with different targets and efficacies, the biochemical effects of phytotoxin ingestion are often poorly understood. Here, we examine the physiological and metabolic effects of the ingestion of glucosinolates (GSLs), the frontline chemical defenses of brassicas (crucifers), on the generalist herbivore Helicoverpa armigera. We focus on kale and cabbage, two crops with similar foliar GSL concentrations but strikingly different GSL compositions. We observed that larval growth and development were well correlated with the nutritional properties of the insect diets, with low protein contents appearing to exacerbate the negative effects of GSLs on growth, pupation and adult eclosion, parameters that were all delayed upon exposure to GSLs. The different GSLs were metabolized similarly by the insect, indicating that the costs of detoxification via conjugation to glutathione (GSH) were similar on the two plant diets. Nevertheless, larval GSH contents, as well as some major nutritional markers (larval protein, free amino acids, and fat), were differentially affected by the different GSL profiles in the two crops. Therefore, the interplay between GSL and the nitrogen/sulfur nutritional availability of different brassicas strongly influences the effectiveness of these chemical defenses against this generalist herbivore.

Herbivore feeding preference corroborates optimal defense theory for specialized metabolites within plants

2021 ◽  
Vol 118 (47) ◽  
pp. e2111977118
Author(s):  
Pascal Hunziker ◽  
Sophie Konstanze Lambertz ◽  
Konrad Weber ◽  
Christoph Crocoll ◽  
Barbara Ann Halkier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Feeding Preference ◽  
Optimal Defense Theory ◽  
Generalist Herbivore ◽  
Optimal Defense ◽  
Specialized Metabolites ◽  
Physiological Evidence ◽  
Central Hypothesis ◽  
Young Leaves ◽  
Plant Metabolite ◽  
Defense Theory

Numerous plants protect themselves from attackers by using specialized metabolites. The biosynthesis of these deterrent, often toxic metabolites is costly, as their synthesis diverts energy and resources on account of growth and development. How plants diversify investments into growth and defense is explained by the optimal defense theory. The central prediction of the optimal defense theory is that plants maximize growth and defense by concentrating specialized metabolites in tissues that are decisive for fitness. To date, supporting physiological evidence relies on the correlation between plant metabolite presence and animal feeding preference. Here, we use glucosinolates as a model to examine the effect of changes in chemical defense distribution on feeding preference. Taking advantage of the uniform glucosinolate distribution in transporter mutants, we show that high glucosinolate accumulation in tissues important to fitness protects them by guiding larvae of a generalist herbivore to feed on other tissues. Moreover, we show that the mature leaves of Arabidopsis thaliana supply young leaves with glucosinolates to optimize defense against herbivores. Our study provides physiological evidence for the central hypothesis of the optimal defense theory and sheds light on the importance of integrating glucosinolate biosynthesis and transport for optimizing plant defense.

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