Glycoalkaloid composition explains variation in slug resistance in Solanum dulcamara.

ABSTRACT: In natural environments, plants have to deal with a wide range of different herbivores whose communities vary in time and space. It is believed that the chemical diversity within plant species has mainly arisen from selection pressures exerted by herbivores. So far, the effects of chemical diversity on plant resistance have mostly been assessed for arthropod herbivores. However, also gastropods, such as slugs, can cause extensive damage to plants. Here we investigate to what extent individual Solanum dulcamara plants differ in their resistance to slug herbivory and whether this variation can be explained by differences in secondary metabolites. We performed a series of preference assays using the grey field slug (Deroceras reticulatum) and S. dulcamara accessions from eight geographically

SUBMITTER: Calf OW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5997107 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature