A comparison of inducible, ontogenetic, and interspecific sources of variation in the foliar metabolome in tropical trees.

ABSTRACT: Plant interactions with other organisms are mediated by chemistry, yet chemistry varies among conspecific and within individual plants. The foliar metabolome-the suite of small-molecule metabolites found in the leaf-changes during leaf ontogeny and is influenced by the signaling molecule jasmonic acid. Species differences in secondary metabolites are thought to play an important ecological role by limiting the host ranges of herbivores and pathogens, and hence facilitating competitive coexistence among plant species in species-rich plant communities such as tropical forests. Yet it remains unclear how inducible and ontogenetic variation compare with interspecific variation, particularly in tropical trees. Here, we take advantage of novel methods to assemble mass spectra of all compounds in

SUBMITTER: Sedio BE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6756142 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature