| Abstract Detail
Physiology Kessler, Andre [1]. The arena of plant-insect interactions and the value of the genome project. PLANTS release volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in response to wounding and herbivore attack. These compounds can function as signals for prey-seeking predators or parasitoids or provide host-seeking herbivores with information about the quality of their host plant. Some of the VOCs trigger responses in neighboring unattacked plants. I will use the study on herbivore-induced VOC emission as an example for the complexity of plant mediated species interactions to illustrate that these interactions are played out in an area that is much bigger than the plant itself. I will focus on a recent study of the airborne, inter-specific interaction between the wild tobacco, Nicotiana attenuata, and sagebrush, Artemisia tridentata. Using microarrays we found transcriptional responses in wild tobacco growing adjacent to clipped sagebrush but did not detect the direct elicitation of defensive chemicals or proteins. However, we observed an accelerated production of defensively active trypsin proteinase inhibitors when Manduca sexta hornworms fed on plants previously exposed to VOCs from clipped sagebrush. This priming of a defense response results in lower total herbivore damage on plants exposed to clipped sagebrush and in a higher mortality rate of neonate Manduca caterpillars. Our study demonstrates priming of plant defense responses as a mechanism of plant-plant signaling in nature, and provides an example for the extended size of the arena in which plant insect interactions are played out. The open questions in the study of induced plant responses to herbivory emphasize the necessity and the value of using modern molecular and genetic tools in ecological research to understand the evolutionary mechanisms behind species interactions. To facilitate such integrative research approaches the SGN has launched an initiative that aims to link the tremendous genomic efforts to basic and applied biological research of Solanaceae in their native habitats. The initiative with the name “SOL-ANDINO” will be introduced.
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Related Links:
Kessler Lab web site
SOL-ANDINO at SGN
1 - Cornell University, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, E 445 Corson Hall, Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
Keywords:
Host plant resistance
induced responses
plant hormone
ecology
Nicotiana attenuata
volatiles.
Session: PAA04a-2
Location: Hall of Ideas Room F/Monona Terrace
Date: Monday, July 24th, 2006
Time: 1:45 PM
Abstract ID:168 |
