Article
Ecology
Kaori Shiojiri, Satomi Ishizaki, Yoshino Ando
Summary: The volatiles released by damaged plants can trigger defense responses in neighboring plants. This phenomenon, known as plant-plant communication or eavesdropping, is stronger between kin plants in certain environments. Plants may distinguish volatiles from kin plants to respond to important conditions and minimize the cost of induced defense. Experiments with goldenrods of different genotypes revealed that plants respond stronger to volatiles from genetically close plants, likely due to similar arthropod communities. These findings provide important insights into the adaptive significance of plant-plant communication.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Alexander Chauta, Andre Kessler
Summary: Plants integrate spectral and chemical environmental cues to optimize metabolic responses to competitors and herbivores, highlighting the role of context-dependent metabolic responses in population and community dynamics.
Article
Plant Sciences
Zhen Liu, Hongwei Yu, Xiao Sun, Jianqing Ding
Summary: This study examines the effects of climate warming on leaf chemistry of an invasive plant and its native congener, as well as the indirect effects on herbivorous insects. The results show that warming can alter the leaf chemistry of both plant species, with varying effects on different chemical traits. These changes in plant chemistry can indirectly impact the performance of herbivorous insects associated with the plants.
JOURNAL OF PLANT ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Morgan N. Thompson, John M. Grunseich, Laura O. Marmolejo, Natalie M. Aguirre, Pius A. Bradicich, Spencer T. Behmer, Charles P. -C. Suh, Anjel M. Helms
Summary: It has been found that belowground larval herbivory enhances aboveground plant defenses and deters aboveground herbivores. The larvae-damaged plants emit higher amounts of a key volatile compound, and belowground herbivory may also influence aboveground herbivore foraging decisions through plant nutrient content.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Biology
Meng-Zhu Shi, Jian-Yu Li, Yan-Ting Chen, Ling Fang, Hang Wei, Jian-Wei Fu
Summary: This study investigated the differences in volatiles released by alligatorweed plants under different treatments. The results showed that alligatorweed plants can be induced to release volatiles by different stages of alligatorweed beetles, and the released volatiles differ quantitatively and qualitatively.
Article
Plant Sciences
Haoran Chen, John Markham
Summary: Nitrogen-fixing plants have limited ability to balance C:N ratios at elevated CO2 levels, with plant leaf defense being the dominant driver of herbivory.
Article
Ecology
Sarah Burli, Andreas Ensslin, Anne Kempel, Markus Fischer
Summary: Rare plant species are not inherently less resistant to herbivores than common species. Instead, their ability to allocate resources away from defense towards enhancing their competitive ability may have allowed them to tolerate herbivory and become locally and regionally common.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jin-Hua Shi, Ze Sun, John A. Pickett, Xin-Jun Hu, Chao Wang, Le Liu, Huanan Jin, Hazem Abdelnabby, Caroline Ngichop Foba, Xue-Qing Yang, Xiang-Qian Chang, Man-Qun Wang
Summary: Studies have shown that the Oriental armyworm prefers to oviposit on withered leaves, which enables it to avoid wheat defense against eggs and emerging larvae. The plant responds by releasing volatile compounds to attract egg parasitoid wasps and increasing jasmonic acid levels to prime against emerging larvae. Additionally, newly emerged armyworm larvae exhibit crawling behavior and starvation tolerance, enhancing their survival on withered leaves.
PLANT CELL AND ENVIRONMENT
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Rui-Min Qin, Ping Wen, Richard T. Corlett, Yuanye Zhang, Gang Wang, Jin Chen
Summary: Seed dispersal plays a crucial role in the survival of short-lived seeds of Aquilaria sinensis in tropical southwest China. Vespa hornets attract most seeds by consuming elaiosomes and depositing them in damp shade, facilitating germination 166 meters away from the parent tree. Rapid seed dispersal is achieved through the release of volatile compounds that attract hornets and serve as an indirect defense mechanism for the species.
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marta Boter, Isabel Diaz
Summary: Plants and phytophagous arthropods have coevolved in a battle for survival, with plants producing antiherbivore chemicals and herbivores adapting to their hosts. Cyanogenic glucosides are defense chemicals produced by cyanogenic plants, while the Brassicaceae family has evolved an alternative pathway to produce cyanohydrin. When a plant tissue is damaged, cyanogenic substrates come into contact with degrading enzymes, releasing toxic cyanide and derived compounds. This review focuses on the plant metabolic pathways linked to cyanogenesis and highlights its role as a defense mechanism against herbivores, discussing the potential of cyanogenesis-derived molecules for pest control strategies.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Mazher Farid Iqbal, Yu-Long Feng, Wei-Wei Feng, Ming-Chao Liu, Xiu-Rong Lu
Summary: This study conducted in the rice tract of Punjab, Pakistan, found that the abundance of the invasive plant Xanthium strumarium varied greatly among different sites and significantly reduced native plant abundance. Three herbivores were found on the invader, significantly inhibiting its growth and providing evidence for the enemy release hypothesis. Further research is needed to determine whether these herbivores could be used as biological control agents for invasive plants.
ECOLOGICAL INDICATORS
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Shan Wu, Li Chen, Yue Zhou, Feng Xiao, Danfeng Liu, Yi Wang
Summary: This study investigated the effects of the invasive plant Phytolacca americana and the exotic noninvasive Phytolacca icosandra on the native tobacco cutworm, Spodoptera litura. The findings showed that S. litura displayed a higher oviposition preference for P. icosandra and had a shorter developmental duration on this plant compared to P. americana. Additionally, S. litura feeding on P. americana exhibited higher AchE and GST activities compared to those feeding on artificial diets or P. icosandra. The content of lignin and flavonoids was relatively high in P. americana, while starch content was relatively low. These findings suggest that invasive plants have higher resistance to herbivores and suffer less damage compared to exotic noninvasive plants.
ENVIRONMENTAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2023)
Review
Plant Sciences
Maite Fernandez de Bobadilla, Alessia Vitiello, Matthias Erb, Erik H. Poelman
Summary: Plants have the ability to recognize their attackers and adjust their physiology to defend against multiple herbivores. However, little is known about how plants defend against multiple attackers, which is a major gap in plant science research.
TRENDS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Tiantian Lin, Guoqing Zhu, Wanci He, Jiulong Xie, Shujiang Li, Shan Han, Shuying Li, Chunlin Yang, Yinggao Liu, Tianhui Zhu
Summary: This study demonstrated that soil cadmium (Cd) stress can significantly induce leaf volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in Populus yunnanensis, and the released VOCs are less attractive to both specialist and generalist herbivores. Furthermore, the herbivores' odor selection and oviposition preference were negatively correlated with leaf total VOC emissions, confirming the defensive role of Cd-induced VOCs. This finding expands our understanding of the Elemental defense hypothesis and provides new insights into predicting herbivore damage in metal-polluted habitats.
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Mei Luo, Bin Li, Georg Jander, Shaoqun Zhou
Summary: Non-volatile metabolites play a crucial role in plant-insect interactions, serving as both nutrients and defensive compounds. Functional genetics studies have identified receptors targeting plant non-volatile metabolites in insects, while the understanding of plant receptors for insect-derived molecules is limited. Insect feeding induces changes in plant specialized metabolism, but the effects on core metabolism vary among species. Furthermore, non-volatile metabolites can facilitate tripartite communication in plant communities through direct root-to-root communication and interactions with parasitic plants, mycorrhizae, and the rhizosphere microbiome.