scholarly journals Higher Elevations Tend to Have Higher Proportion of Plant Species With Glandular Trichomes

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Wu ◽  
Simcha Lev-Yadun ◽  
Lu Sun ◽  
Hang Sun ◽  
Bo Song

Glandular trichomes are well known to participate in plant chemical and physical defenses against herbivores, especially herbivorous insects. However, little is known about large-scale geographical patterns in glandular trichome occurrence. Herbivory pressure is thought to be higher at low elevations because of warmer and more stable climates. We therefore predicted a higher proportion of species with glandular trichomes at low elevations than at higher elevations. We compiled glandular trichome data (presence/absence) for 6,262 angiosperm species from the Hengduan Mountains (a global biodiversity hotspot in southwest China). We tested the elevational gradient (800–5,000 m a.s.l.) in the occurrence of plant species with glandular trichomes, and its correlations with biotic (occurrence of herbivorous insects) and abiotic factors, potentially shaping the elevational gradient in the occurrence of glandular trichomes. We found a significantly positive relationship between elevation and the occurrence of glandular trichomes, with the proportion of species having glandular trichomes increasing from 11.89% at 800 m a.s.l. to 17.92% at above 4,700 m. This cross-species relationship remained significant after accounting for phylogenetic relationships between species. Herbivorous insect richness peaked at mid-elevations and its association with the incidence of glandular trichomes was weak. Mean annual temperature was the most important factor associated negatively with glandular trichomes. Our results do not support the hypothesis that plant defenses decrease with increasing elevation. In contrast, a higher proportion of plant species with glandular trichome toward higher elevations is observed. Our results also highlight the importance of considering the simultaneous influences of biotic and abiotic factors in testing geographical variation in multifunctional plant defenses.

2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
pp. 103-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nate B. Hardy ◽  
Chloe Kaczvinsky ◽  
Gwendolyn Bird ◽  
Benjamin B. Normark

Half a million species of herbivorous insects have been described. Most of them are diet specialists, using only a few plant species as hosts. Biologists suspect that their specificity is key to their diversity. But why do herbivorous insects tend to be diet specialists? In this review, we catalog a broad range of explanations. We review the evidence for each and suggest lines of research to obtain the evidence we lack. We then draw attention to a second major question, namely how changes in diet breadth affect the rest of a species’ biology. In particular, we know little about how changes in diet breadth feed back on genetic architecture, the population genetic environment, and other aspects of a species’ ecology. Knowing more about how generalists and specialists differ should go a long way toward sorting out potential explanations of specificity, and yield a deeper understanding of herbivorous insect diversity.


2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Despland

Herding behavior is widespread among herbivorous insect larvae across several orders. These larval societies represent one of several different forms of insect sociality that have historically received less attention than the well-known eusocial model but are showing us that social diversity in insects is broader than originally imagined. These alternative forms of sociality often focus attention on the ecology, rather than the genetics, of sociality. Indeed, mutually beneficial cooperation among individuals is increasingly recognized as important relative to relatedness in the evolution of sociality, and I will explore its role in larval insect herds. Larval herds vary in in the complexity of their social behavior but what they have in common includes exhibiting specialized social behaviors that are ineffective in isolated individuals but mutually beneficial in groups. They hence constitute cooperation with direct advantages that doesn’t require kinship between cooperators to be adaptive. Examples include: trail following, head-to-tail processions and other behaviors that keep groups together, huddling tightly to bask, synchronized biting and edge-feeding to overwhelm plant defenses, silk production for shelter building or covering plant trichomes and collective defensive behaviors like head-swaying. Various selective advantages to group living have been suggested and I propose that different benefits are at play in different taxa where herding has evolved independently. Proposed benefits include those relative to selection pressure from abiotic factors (e.g., thermoregulation), to bottom-up pressures from plants or to top-down pressures from natural enemies. The adaptive value of herding cooperation must be understood in the context of the organism’s niche and suite of traits. I propose several such suites in herbivorous larvae that occupy different niches. First, some herds aggregate to thermoregulate collectively, particularly in early spring feeders of the temperate zone. Second, other species aggregate to overwhelm host plant defenses, frequently observed in tropical species. Third, species that feed on toxic plants can aggregate to enhance the warning signal produced by aposematic coloration or stereotyped defensive behaviors. Finally, the combination of traits including gregariousness, conspicuous behavior and warning signals can be favored by a synergy between bottom-up and top-down selective forces. When larvae on toxic plants aggregate to overcome plant defenses, this grouping makes them conspicuous to predators and favors warning signals. I thus conclude that a single explanation is not sufficient for the broad range of herding behaviors that occurs in phylogenetically diverse insect larvae in different environments.


Euphytica ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 217 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joris Santegoets ◽  
Marcella Bovio ◽  
Wendy van’t Westende ◽  
Roeland E. Voorrips ◽  
Ben Vosman

AbstractThe greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum is a major threat in tomato cultivation. In greenhouse grown tomatoes non-trichome based whitefly resistance may be better suited than glandular trichome based resistance as glandular trichomes may interfere with biocontrol, which is widely used. Analysis of a collection of recombinant inbred lines derived from a cross between Solanum lycopersicum and Solanum galapagense showed resistance to the whitefly T. vaporariorum on plants without glandular trichomes type IV. The resistance affected whitefly adult survival (AS), but not oviposition rate. This indicates that S. galapagense, in addition to trichome based resistance, also carries non-trichome based resistance components. The effectiveness of the non-trichome based resistance appeared to depend on the season in which the plants were grown. The resistance also had a small but significant effect on the whitefly Bemisia tabaci, but not on the thrips Frankliniella occidentalis. A segregating F2 population was created to map the non-trichome based resistance. Two Quantitative trait loci (QTLs) for reduced AS of T. vaporariorum were mapped on chromosomes 12 and 7 (explaining 13.9% and 6.0% of the variance respectively). The QTL on chromosome 12 was validated in F3 lines.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 930
Author(s):  
Xu Yu ◽  
Xiwu Qi ◽  
Shumin Li ◽  
Hailing Fang ◽  
Yang Bai ◽  
...  

Light is a key environmental aspect that regulates secondary metabolic synthesis. The essential oil produced in mint (Mentha canadensis L.) leaves is used widely in the aromatics industry and in medicine. Under low-light treatment, significant reductions in peltate glandular trichome densities were observed. GC-MS analysis showed dramatically reduced essential oil and menthol contents. Light affected the peltate glandular trichomes’ development and essential oil yield production. However, the underlying mechanisms of this regulation were elusive. To identify the critical genes during light-regulated changes in oil content, following a 24 h darkness treatment and a 24 h recovery light treatment, leaves were collected for transcriptome analysis. A total of 95,579 unigenes were obtained, with an average length of 754 bp. About 56.58% of the unigenes were annotated using four public protein databases: 10,977 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were found to be involved in the light signaling pathway and monoterpene synthesis pathway. Most of the TPs showed a similar expression pattern: downregulation after darkness treatment and upregulation after the return of light. In addition, the genes involved in the light signal transduction pathway were analyzed. A series of responsive transcription factors (TFs) were identified and could be used in metabolic engineering as an effective strategy for increasing essential oil yields.


Plants ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 1420
Author(s):  
Takahiro Ueda ◽  
Miki Murata ◽  
Ken Yokawa

Environmental light conditions influence the biosynthesis of monoterpenes in the mint plant. Cyclic terpenes, such as menthol, menthone, pulegone, and menthofuran, are major odor components synthesized in mint leaves. However, it is unclear how light for cultivation affects the contents of these compounds. Artificial lighting using light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for plant cultivation has the advantage of preferential wavelength control. Here, we monitored monoterpene contents in hydroponically cultivated Japanese mint leaves under blue, red, or far-red wavelengths of LED light supplements. Volatile cyclic monoterpenes, pulegone, menthone, menthol, and menthofuran were quantified using the head-space solid phase microextraction method. As a result, all light wavelengths promoted the biosynthesis of the compounds. Remarkably, two weeks of blue-light supplement increased all compounds: pulegone (362% increase compared to the control), menthofuran (285%), menthone (223%), and menthol (389%). Red light slightly promoted pulegone (256%), menthofuran (178%), and menthol (197%). Interestingly, the accumulation of menthone (229%) or menthofuran (339%) was observed with far-red light treatment. The quantification of glandular trichomes density revealed that no increase under light supplement was confirmed. Blue light treatment even suppressed the glandular trichome formation. No promotion of photosynthesis was observed by pulse-amplitude-modulation (PAM) fluorometry. The present result indicates that light supplements directly promoted the biosynthetic pathways of cyclic monoterpenes.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Peina Zhou ◽  
Mengjiao Yin ◽  
Shilin Dai ◽  
Ke Bao ◽  
Chenglin Song ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Perilla frutescens (L.) Britt is a medicinal and edible plant widely cultivated in Asia. Terpenoids, flavonoids and phenolic acids are the primary source of medicinal ingredients. Glandular trichomes with multicellular structures are known as biochemical cell factories which synthesized specialized metabolites. However, there is currently limited information regarding the site and mechanism of biosynthesis of these constituents in P. frutescens. Herein, we studied morphological features of glandular trichomes, metabolic profiling and transcriptomes through different tissues. Results Observation of light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy indicated the presence of three distinct glandular trichome types based on their morphological features: peltate, capitate, and digitiform glandular trichomes. The oil of peltate glandular trichomes, collected by custom-made micropipettes and analyzed by LC–MS and GC–MS, contained perillaketone, isoegomaketone, and egomaketone as the major constituents which are consistent with the components of leaves. Metabolomics and transcriptomics were applied to explore the bioactive constituent biosynthesis in the leaves, stem, and root of P. frutescens. Transcriptome sequencing profiles revealed differential regulation of genes related to terpenoids, flavonoids, and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, respectively with most genes expressed highly in leaves. The genes affecting the development of trichomes were preliminarily predicted and discussed. Conclusions The current study established the morphological and chemical characteristics of glandular trichome types of P. frutescens implying the bioactive constituents were mainly synthesized in peltate glandular trichomes. The genes related to bioactive constituents biosynthesis were explored via transcriptomes, which provided the basis for unraveling the biosynthesis of bioactive constituents in this popular medicinal plant.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Belén Cotes ◽  
Gunda Thöming ◽  
Carol V. Amaya-Gómez ◽  
Ondřej Novák ◽  
Christian Nansen

AbstractRoot-associated entomopathogenic fungi (R-AEF) indirectly influence herbivorous insect performance. However, host plant-R-AEF interactions and R-AEF as biological control agents have been studied independently and without much attention to the potential synergy between these functional traits. In this study, we evaluated behavioral responses of cabbage root flies [Delia radicum L. (Diptera: Anthomyiidae)] to a host plant (white cabbage cabbage Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba cv. Castello L.) with and without the R-AEF Metarhizium brunneum (Petch). We performed experiments on leaf reflectance, phytohormonal composition and host plant location behavior (behavioral processes that contribute to locating and selecting an adequate host plant in the environment). Compared to control host plants, R-AEF inoculation caused, on one hand, a decrease in reflectance of host plant leaves in the near-infrared portion of the radiometric spectrum and, on the other, an increase in the production of jasmonic, (+)-7-iso-jasmonoyl-l-isoleucine and salicylic acid in certain parts of the host plant. Under both greenhouse and field settings, landing and oviposition by cabbage root fly females were positively affected by R-AEF inoculation of host plants. The fungal-induced change in leaf reflectance may have altered visual cues used by the cabbage root flies in their host plant selection. This is the first study providing evidence for the hypothesis that R-AEF manipulate the suitability of their host plant to attract herbivorous insects.


2001 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 385-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula J. Peeters ◽  
Jennifer Read ◽  
Gordon D. Sanson

2016 ◽  
Vol 64 (8) ◽  
pp. 696 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinícius Coelho Kuster ◽  
Silvana Aparecida Barbosa de Castro ◽  
Fernando Henrique Aguiar Vale

The phytophysiognomies of the Neotropical savannah occur at different altitudes, which can determine distinctions in the levels of light and shade that plants are exposed. The focus of the study is analysing the functional traits of the leaves of Byrsonima verbascifolia (L.) Rich., Roupala montana Aubl. and Solanum lycocarpum A. St.-Hil. growing in phytophysiognomies at two distinct altitudes. We evaluated leaf anatomy, the quantum yield of photosystem II, and the photosynthetic pigments in plants occurring at two areas of Campo sujo, which are separated by 700 m of altitude, during the rainy season. The three plant species occurring at higher altitudes had thicker adaxial epidermis. B. verbascifolia and S. lycocarpum occurring at higher altitudes had thicker palisade parenchyma, whereas only B. verbascifolia had thicker spongy parenchyma at the same site. The quantum yield of photosystem II, and photosynthetic pigments had little differences between plants occurring at higher and lower altitudes. The results analysed show high structural modifications and low physiological alterations from altitudinal conditions. Thus, the influence of the abiotic factors appears to modulate the plastic responses of plants across altitude.


1997 ◽  
Vol 122 (3) ◽  
pp. 373-379 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Grazzini ◽  
Donald Walters ◽  
Jody Harmon ◽  
David J. Hesk ◽  
Diana Cox-Foster ◽  
...  

Diploid zonal geraniums (Pelargonium ×hortorum) are able to resist attack by small arthropod pests such as the two-spotted spider mite (Tetranychus urticae Koch) when exudate produced by tall glandular trichomes contains a high percentage of ω5-unsaturated anacardic acids. Trichomes of susceptible plants exude primarily saturated anacardic acids. Inbred mite-resistant and -susceptible geraniums were reciprocally crossed and the F1, F2, and backcross generations were examined for anacardic acid composition and trichome density. Selected F2 plants were bioassayed for resistance to two-spotted spider mites. High concentrations of ω5-unsaturated anacardic acids in resistant plants are conditioned by a single dominant allele. We propose that inheritance of tall glandular trichome density can be controlled by a small number of loci (possibly as few as one) exhibiting codominance. F2, with low densities of tall glandular trichomes and producing ω5-unsaturated anacardic acids, displayed effective resistance to two-spotted spider mites as measured by mite mortality and fecundity. A genetic model for the biosynthesis of anacardic acids is proposed.


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