Cascading Effects of Plant Hormone-induced Trait Shifts in Alnus rubra on Aquatic and Terrestrial Ecosystem Function.

ABSTRACT: While intraspecific trait variation can regulate ecosystem functions, there is limited understanding of whether this variation caused by inducible phenotypic shifts, as opposed to genetic hardwiring, can have such effects. Leveraging the complex inducible defense systems of plants, we found that treating young Alnus rubra trees with the plant hormones methyl jasmonate and salicylic acid, which are involved in plant defensive responses to herbivory and/or pathogen stress, triggered shifts in the composition of leaf secondary metabolites and nutrient reallocation among plant tissues. Induction of the jasmonic acid pathway triggered substantial changes among the dosage-dependent ellagitannins and a decline in leaf nitrogen, while induction of the salicylic acid pathway triggered greater restr

SUBMITTER: Broe TY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12431895 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature