Flowers prepare thyselves: leaf and root herbivores induce specific changes in floral phytochemistry with consequences for plant interactions with florivores.

ABSTRACT: The phenotypic plasticity of flowering plants in response to herbivore damage to vegetative tissues can affect plant interactions with flower-feeding organisms. Such induced systemic responses are probably regulated by defence-related phytohormones that signal flowers to alter secondary chemistry that affects resistance to florivores. Current knowledge on the effects of damage to vegetative tissues on plant interactions with florivores and the underlying mechanisms is limited. We compared the preference and performance of two florivores on flowering Brassica nigra plants damaged by one of three herbivores feeding from roots or leaves. To investigate the underlying mechanisms, we quantified expression patterns of marker genes for defence-related phytohormonal pathways, and concentrations of

SUBMITTER: Rusman Q 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9305281 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature