| Title: | Olfactory selection of Plantago lanceolata by snails declines with seedling age |
| Author(s): | Hanley ME; Girling RD; Felix AE; Olliff ED; Newland PL; Poppy GM; |
| Address: | "School of Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth PL4 8AA, UK. mehanley@plymouth.ac.uk" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1095-8290 (Electronic) 0305-7364 (Print) 0305-7364 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Despite recent recognition that (1) plant-herbivore interactions during the establishment phase, (2) ontogenetic shifts in resource allocation and (3) herbivore response to plant volatile release are each pivotal to a comprehensive understanding of plant defence, no study has examined how herbivore olfactory response varies during seedling ontogeny. METHODS: Using a Y-tube olfactometer we examined snail (Helix aspersa) olfactory response to pellets derived from macerated Plantago lanceolata plants harvested at 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8 weeks of age to test the hypothesis that olfactory selection of plants by a generalist herbivore varies with plant age. Plant volatiles were collected for 10 min using solid-phase microextraction technique on 1- and 8-week-old P. lanceolata pellets and analysed by gas chromatography coupled with a mass spectrometer. KEY RESULTS: Selection of P. lanceolata was strongly negatively correlated with increasing age; pellets derived from 1-week-old seedlings were three times more likely to be selected as those from 8-week-old plants. Comparison of plant selection experiments with plant volatile profiles from GC/MS suggests that patterns of olfactory selection may be linked to ontogenetic shifts in concentrations of green leaf volatiles and ethanol (and its hydrolysis derivatives). CONCLUSIONS: Although confirmatory of predictions made by contemporary plant defence theory, this is the first study to elucidate a link between seedling age and olfactory selection by herbivores. As a consequence, this study provides a new perspective on the ontogenetic expression of seedling defence, and the role of seedling herbivores, particularly terrestrial molluscs, as selective agents in temperate plant communities" |
| Keywords: | Animals *Herbivory Plantago/*chemistry/growth & development Seedlings/chemistry/growth & development *Smell Snails/*physiology Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis Green leaf volatiles Helix aspersa Plantago lanceolata olfactory response ontogeny plant def; |
| Notes: | "MedlineHanley, M E Girling, R D Felix, A E Olliff, E D Newland, P L Poppy, G M eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2013/02/06 Ann Bot. 2013 Aug; 112(4):671-6. doi: 10.1093/aob/mct003. Epub 2013 Feb 3" |
