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Abdala-Roberts L, Moreira X. Effects of phytochemical diversity on multitrophic interactions. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2024; 64:101228. [PMID: 38944275 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2024.101228] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/21/2024] [Revised: 06/01/2024] [Accepted: 06/21/2024] [Indexed: 07/01/2024]
Abstract
The ecological effects of plant diversity have been well studied, but the extent to which they are driven by variation in specialized metabolites is not well understood. Here, we provide theoretical background on phytochemical diversity effects on herbivory and its expanded consequences for higher trophic levels. We then review empirical evidence for effects on predation and parasitism by focusing on a handful of studies that have undertaken manipulative approaches and link back their results to theory on mechanisms. We close by summarizing key aspects for future research, building on knowledge gained thus far.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Abdala-Roberts
- Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán, Apartado Postal 4-116, Itzimná, 97000 Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico.
| | - Xoaquín Moreira
- Misión Biológica de Galicia (MBG-CSIC), Apartado de Correos 28, 36080 Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain
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Grosjean J, Pashalidou FG, Fauvet A, Baillet A, Kergunteuil A. Phytochemical drivers of insect herbivory: a functional toolbox to support agroecological diversification. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2024; 11:240890. [PMID: 39021775 PMCID: PMC11251780 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.240890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2024] [Accepted: 06/12/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024]
Abstract
Plant metabolism is a key feature of biodiversity that remains underexploited in functional frameworks used in agroecology. Here, we study how phytochemical diversity considered at three organizational levels can promote pest control. In a factorial field experiment, we manipulated plant diversity in three monocultures and three mixed crops of oilseed rape to explore how intra- and interspecific phytochemical diversity affects pest infestation. We combined recent progress in metabolomics with classic metrics used in ecology to test a box of hypotheses grounded in plant defence theory. According to the hypothesis of 'phytochemically mediated coevolution', our study stresses the relationships between herbivore infestation and particular classes of specialized metabolites like glucosinolates. Among 178 significant relationships between metabolites and herbivory rates, only 20% were negative. At the plant level, phytochemical abundance and richness had poor predictive power on pest regulation. This challenges the hypothesis of 'synergistic effects'. At the crop cover level, in line with the hypothesis of 'associational resistance', the phytochemical dissimilarity between neighbouring plants limited pest infestation. We discuss the intricate links between associational resistance and bottom-up pest control. Bridging different levels of organization in agroecosystems helps to dissect the multi-scale relationships between phytochemistry and insect herbivory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Grosjean
- Université de Lorraine, LAE, INRAE, 54000 Nancy, France
- Platform of Structural and Metabolomics Analyses, SF4242, EFABA, Lorraine University, Vandoeuvre-les-Nancy, France
| | | | - Aude Fauvet
- Université de Lorraine, LAE, INRAE, 54000 Nancy, France
| | | | - Alan Kergunteuil
- Université de Lorraine, LAE, INRAE, 54000 Nancy, France
- INRAE, PSH, 84000 Avignon, France
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3
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Sun L, He Y, Cao M, Wang X, Zhou X, Yang J, Swenson NG. Tree phytochemical diversity and herbivory are higher in the tropics. Nat Ecol Evol 2024:10.1038/s41559-024-02444-2. [PMID: 38937611 DOI: 10.1038/s41559-024-02444-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/29/2024]
Abstract
A long-standing but poorly tested hypothesis in plant ecology and evolution is that biotic interactions play a more important role in producing and maintaining species diversity in the tropics than in the temperate zone. A core prediction of this hypothesis is that tropical plants deploy a higher diversity of phytochemicals within and across communities because they experience more herbivore pressure than temperate plants. However, simultaneous comparisons of phytochemical diversity and herbivore pressure in plant communities from the tropical to the temperate zone are lacking. Here we provide clear support for this prediction by examining phytochemical diversity and herbivory in 60 tree communities ranging from species-rich tropical rainforests to species-poor subalpine forests. Using a community metabolomics approach, we show that phytochemical diversity is higher within and among tropical tree communities than within and among subtropical and subalpine communities, and that herbivore pressure and specialization are highest in the tropics. Furthermore, we show that the phytochemical similarity of trees has little phylogenetic signal, indicating rapid divergence between closely related species. In sum, we provide several lines of evidence from entire tree communities showing that biotic interactions probably play an increasingly important role in generating and maintaining tree diversity in the lower latitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Sun
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China
| | - Yunyun He
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China
- University of Chinese Academy Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Min Cao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China
| | - Xuezhao Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China
- University of Chinese Academy Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xiang Zhou
- School of Ethnic Medicine, Key Lab of Chemistry in Ethnic Medicinal Resources, State Ethnic Affairs Commission & Ministry of Education of China, Yunnan Minzu University, Kunming, China
| | - Jie Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China.
| | - Nathan G Swenson
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, USA
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Wang X, Chen L, Zhang H, Liu P, Shang X, Wang F, Zhang Z, Zhao J, Sun M, Chen J, Zhang J. Insect herbivory on woody broadleaf seedlings along a subtropical elevational gradient supports the resource concentration hypothesis. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2024; 111:e16355. [PMID: 38831659 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 04/07/2024] [Accepted: 04/09/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
PREMISE Theories of plant-herbivore interactions hold that seedlings are more vulnerable to herbivory in warmer and more stable climates at lower elevations. Hypotheses of plant apparency, resource concentration, and resource availability have been proposed to explain variability in leaf herbivory. However, seasonal differences in the effects of these hypotheses on leaf herbivory on seedlings remain unclear. METHODS We evaluated the three herbivory hypotheses by comparing the percentage and frequency of leaf herbivory in understory broadleaf seedlings in a subtropical forest in May (spring) and October (autumn) along an elevational gradient (290-1370 m a.s.l.). In total, we measured 2890 leaves across 696 seedlings belonging to 95 species and used beta regressions to test the effects of plant apparency (e.g., leaf area, seedling height), resource concentration (e.g., plant species diversity), and resource availability (e.g., canopy openness, soil available N and P) on leaf herbivory. RESULTS Seedlings exhibited unimodal patterns of leaf herbivory along elevation, with drivers of leaf herbivory varying by the month. Variation in the frequency of leaf herbivory was best explained by the resource concentration hypothesis (e.g., plant species diversity) in both months, and herbivory was lower on seedlings in sites with higher plant diversity. Plant apparency hypothesis (e.g., leaf area, seedling height) was weakly supported only in spring, and the evidence for resource availability hypothesis (e.g., canopy openness, soil nutrients) was mixed. CONCLUSIONS This study supports the resource concentration hypothesis and reveals the importance of seasonal difference on understanding leaf herbivory patterns and the drivers of plant diversity in subtropical forests.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoran Wang
- Center for Global Change and Complex Ecosystems, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China
| | - Lin Chen
- Administration of Guanshan National Nature Reserve, Yichun, 336300, China
| | - Hongwei Zhang
- Center for Global Change and Complex Ecosystems, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Pengcheng Liu
- Center for Global Change and Complex Ecosystems, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Xiaofan Shang
- Center for Global Change and Complex Ecosystems, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Fang Wang
- Center for Global Change and Complex Ecosystems, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Zhaochen Zhang
- Lushan Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Jiujiang, 332900, China
| | - Jingchao Zhao
- Center for Global Change and Complex Ecosystems, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Mufan Sun
- Center for Global Change and Complex Ecosystems, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Junhong Chen
- Center for Global Change and Complex Ecosystems, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
| | - Jian Zhang
- Center for Global Change and Complex Ecosystems, Zhejiang Tiantong Forest Ecosystem National Observation and Research Station, School of Ecological and Environmental Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 200241, China
- Shanghai Institute of Pollution Control and Ecological Security, Shanghai, 200092, China
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Zhou XH, Li JJ, Peng PH, He WM. Climate warming impacts chewing Spodoptera litura negatively but sucking Corythucha marmorata positively on native Solidago canadensis. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 923:171504. [PMID: 38460690 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.171504] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 02/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/11/2024]
Abstract
Insect-plant interactions are among importantly ecological processes, and rapid environmental changes such as temperature and resource fluctuations can disrupt long-standing insect-plant interactions. While individual impacts of climate warming, atmospheric nitrogen (N) deposition, and plant provenance on insect-plant interactions are well studied, their joint effects on insect-plant interactions are less explored in ecologically realistic settings. To this end, we performed five experiments with native and invasive Solidago canadensis populations from home and introduced ranges and two insect herbivores (leaf-chewing Spodoptera litura and sap-sucking Corythucha marmorata) in the context of climate warming and N deposition. We determined leaf defensive traits, feeding preference, and insect growth and development, and quantified the possible associations among climate change, host-plant traits, and insect performance with structural equation modeling. First, native S. canadensis populations experienced higher damage by S. litura but lower damage by C. marmorata than invasive S. canadensis populations in the ambient environment. Second, warming decreased the leaf consumption, growth, and survival of S. litura on native S. canadensis populations, but did not affect these traits on invasive S. canadensis populations; warming increased the number of C. marmorata on native S. canadensis populations via direct facilitation, but decreased that on invasive S. canadensis populations via indirect suppression. Third, N addition enhanced the survival of S. litura on native S. canadensis populations, and its feeding preference and leaf consumption on invasive S. canadensis populations. Finally, warming plus N addition exhibited non-additive effects on insect-plant interactions. Based on these results, we tentatively conclude that climate warming could have contrasting effects on insect-plant interactions depending on host-plant provenance and that the effects of atmospheric N deposition on insects might be relatively weak compared to climate warming. Future studies should focus on the molecular mechanisms underlying these different patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Hui Zhou
- College of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China; Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; College of Ecology and Environment, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China
| | - Jing-Ji Li
- College of Ecology and Environment, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China
| | - Pei-Hao Peng
- Institute of Ecological Resources and Landscape Architecture, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China
| | - Wei-Ming He
- College of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural University, Baoding, China; Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Hebei Urban Forest Health Technology Innovation Center, Baoding, China.
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Thon FM, Müller C, Wittmann MJ. The evolution of chemodiversity in plants-From verbal to quantitative models. Ecol Lett 2024; 27:e14365. [PMID: 38362774 DOI: 10.1111/ele.14365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2023] [Revised: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Plants harbour a great chemodiversity, that is diversity of specialised metabolites (SMs), at different scales. For instance, individuals can produce a large number of SMs, and populations can differ in their metabolite composition. Given the ecological and economic importance of plant chemodiversity, it is important to understand how it arises and is maintained over evolutionary time. For other dimensions of biodiversity, that is species diversity and genetic diversity, quantitative models play an important role in addressing such questions. Here, we provide a synthesis of existing hypotheses and quantitative models, that is mathematical models and computer simulations, for the evolution of plant chemodiversity. We describe each model's ingredients, that is the biological processes that shape chemodiversity, the scales it considers and whether it has been formalized as a quantitative model. Although we identify several quantitative models, not all are dynamic and many influential models have remained verbal. To fill these gaps, we outline our vision for the future of chemodiversity modelling. We identify quantitative models used for genetic variation that may be adapted for chemodiversity, and we present a flexible framework for the creation of individual-based models that address different scales of chemodiversity and combine different ingredients that bring this chemodiversity about.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frans M Thon
- Faculty of Biology, Theoretical Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Caroline Müller
- Faculty of Biology, Chemical Ecology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Joint Institute for Individualisation in a Changing Environment (JICE), University of Münster and Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Meike J Wittmann
- Faculty of Biology, Theoretical Biology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
- Joint Institute for Individualisation in a Changing Environment (JICE), University of Münster and Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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