Johnson, S.N. orcid.org/0000-0002-8388-8345, Hartley, S.E. orcid.org/0000-0002-5117-687X, Ryalls, J.M.W. et al. (2 more authors) (2021) Targeted plant defense: silicon conserves hormonal defense signaling impacting chewing but not fluid‐feeding herbivores. Ecology, 102 (3). e03250. ISSN 0012-9658
Abstract
Plants deploy an arsenal of chemical and physical defenses against arthropod herbivores, but it may be most cost efficient to produce these only when attacked. Herbivory activates complex signaling pathways involving several phytohormones, including jasmonic acid (JA), which regulate production of defensive compounds. The Poaceae also have the capacity to take up large amounts of silicon (Si), which accumulates in plant tissues. Si accumulation has antiherbivore properties, but it is poorly understood how Si defenses relate to defense hormone signaling. Here we show that Si enrichment causes the model grass Brachypodium distachyon to show lower levels of JA induction when attacked by chewing herbivores. Triggering this hormone even at lower concentrations, however, prompts Si uptake and physical defenses (e.g., leaf hairs), which negatively impact chewing herbivores. Removal of leaf hairs restored performance. Crucially, activation of such Si-based defense is herbivore-specific and occurred only in response to chewing and not fluid-feeding (aphid) herbivores. This aligned with our meta-analysis of 88 studies that showed Si defenses were more effective against chewing herbivores than fluid feeders. Our results suggest integration between herbivore defenses in a model Si-accumulating plant, which potentially allows it to avoid unnecessary activation of other costly defenses.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 by the Ecological Society of America. This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Ecology. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. |
Keywords: | herbivory; insects; jasmonic acid; physical defense; plant defense; silica; silicon; Animals; Herbivory; Mastication; Plant Leaves; Plants; Signal Transduction; Silicon |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Vice-Chancellor's Office (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number Australian Research Council DP170102278 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 06 Sep 2024 11:44 |
Last Modified: | 06 Sep 2024 13:04 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1002/ecy.3250 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:216856 |