Herbivore cues and plant damage-associated compounds jointly alter seed germination and seedling herbivory.

ABSTRACT: While plant defense against herbivory is primarily thought to occur following attack, there is also evidence that plants can detect and respond to pre-attack cues. These cues include chemicals released from damaged conspecifics and kairomones, non-attack-related substances emitted by an herbivore that plants can detect and use to their benefit. It is unknown, however, whether or how plants react to the interaction of these pre-attack cues. We measured germination, growth, and herbivore susceptibility of B. nigra seedlings in an experiment that crossed the presence/absence of crushed B. nigra leaves with the presence/absence of mucus of a generalist herbivore, A. subfuscus. Seeds exposed to both crushed leaves and slug mucus germinated 8% more quickly than control seeds; neither risk cue in

SUBMITTER: Overstrum KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12647282 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature