Just in time: Circadian defense patterns and the optimal defense hypothesis |
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Authors: | Ian T Baldwin Stefan Meldau |
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Institution: | Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology; Department of Molecular Ecology; Jena, Germany |
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Abstract: | The optimal defense hypothesis (ODH) provides a functional explanation for the inhomogeneous distribution of defensive structures and defense metabolites throughout a plant’s body: tissues that are most valuable in terms of fitness and have the highest probability of attack are generally the best defended. In a previous review,1 we argue that ontogenically-controlled accumulations of defense metabolites are likely regulated through an integration of developmental and defense signaling pathways. In this addendum, we extend the discussion of ODH patterns by including the recent discoveries of circadian clock-controlled defenses in plants. |
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Keywords: | optimal defense hypothesis circadian clock jasmonic acid herbivory Nicotiana attenuata |
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