Root herbivore performance suppressed when feeding on a jasmonate‐induced pasture grass |
| |
| Authors: | Scott N Johnson Gaëtan Glauser Ivan Hiltpold Ben D Moore James MW Ryalls |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Penrith, Australia;2. Neuchatel Platform of Analytical Chemistry (NPAC), Université de Neuchatel, Neuchatel, Switzerland;3. Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, U.S.A.;4. Centre for Agri‐Environmental Research, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, U.K. |
| |
| Abstract: | 1. Plants defend themselves from insect herbivore attack using a range of physical and chemical defences which are in many cases regulated by phytohormones such as jasmonates. While much more is known about how jasmonates regulate defence against above‐ground herbivores (e.g. herbivores of leaves), there is increasing interest in how they influence below‐ground defences. 2. For the Poaceae, most below‐ground studies focus on highly domesticated cereals. Here it is demonstrated how exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) to the leaf blades of a non‐domesticated pasture grass (Microlaena stipoides) caused a more than two‐fold decrease in relative growth rate (RGR) of a root‐feeding chafer (Dermolepida albohirtum). MeJA treatment did not affect root consumption rates, but substantially reduced the efficiency of conversion of ingested food to body mass. 3. Non‐targeted metabolomics identified significant changes in the metabolome of MeJA‐induced plants, with three compounds (a galactolipid, a trihydroxy fatty acid and a lysophospholipid) found to be correlated with herbivore RGR, although their roles in herbivore defence remain uncertain. 4. This study suggests that an important Australian pasture grass can become better defended against root herbivores via enhanced jasmonate activity. |
| |
| Keywords: | Below‐ground herbivore grass jasmonic acid metabolomics Microlaena stipoides root herbivory |
|
|
