Quantitative and qualitative shifts in defensive metabolites define chemical defense investment during leaf development in Inga, a genus of tropical trees.

ABSTRACT: Selective pressures imposed by herbivores are often positively correlated with investments that plants make in defense. Research based on the framework of an evolutionary arms race has improved our understanding of why the amount and types of defenses differ between plant species. However, plant species are exposed to different selective pressures during the life of a leaf, such that expanding leaves suffer more damage from herbivores and pathogens than mature leaves. We hypothesize that this differential selective pressure may result in contrasting quantitative and qualitative defense investment in plants exposed to natural selective pressures in the field. To characterize shifts in chemical defenses, we chose six species of Inga, a speciose Neotropical tree genus. Focal species represent

SUBMITTER: Wiggins NL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4729263 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature