Pyrrolizidine alkaloid variation in Senecio vulgaris populations from native and invasive ranges.

ABSTRACT: Biological invasion is regarded as one of the greatest environmental problems facilitated by globalization. Some hypotheses about the invasive mechanisms of alien invasive plants consider the plant-herbivore interaction and the role of plant defense in this interaction. For example, the "Shift Defense Hypothesis" (SDH) argues that introduced plants evolve higher levels of qualitative defense chemicals and decreased levels of quantitative defense, as they are released of the selective pressures from specialist herbivores but still face attack from generalists. Common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris), originating from Europe, is a cosmopolitan invasive plant in temperate regions. As in other Senecio species, S. vulgaris contains pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) as characteristi

SUBMITTER: Cheng D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5560238 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature