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Biol Lett

Title:		Plant spines deter herbivory by restricting caterpillar movement
Author(s):		Kariyat RR; Hardison SB; De Moraes CM; Mescher MC;
Address:		"Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. Department of Biology and Marine Biology, University of North Carolina, Wilmington, NC, USA. Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland mescher@usys.ethz.ch"
Journal Title:		Biol Lett
Year:		2017
Volume:		13
Issue:		5
Page Number:		-
DOI:		10.1098/rsbl.2017.0176
ISSN/ISBN:		1744-957X (Electronic) 1744-9561 (Print) 1744-9561 (Linking)
Abstract:		"The spines of flowering plants are thought to function primarily in defence against mammalian herbivores; however, we previously reported that feeding by Manduca sexta caterpillars on the leaves of horsenettle plants (Solanum carolinense) induces increased development of internode spines on new growth. To determine whether and how spines impact caterpillar feeding, we conducted assays with three Solanaceous plant species that vary in spine numbers (S. carolinense, S. atropurpureum and S. aethiopicum) and also manipulated spine numbers within each species. We found that M. sexta caterpillars located experimentally isolated target leaves much more quickly on plants with experimentally removed spines compared with plants with intact spines. Moreover, it took caterpillars longer to defoliate species with relatively high spine numbers (S. carolinense and particularly Satropurpureum) compared with S. aethiopicum, which has fewer spines. These findings suggest that spines may play a significant role in defence against insect herbivores by restricting herbivore movement and increasing the time taken to access feeding sites, with possible consequences including longer developmental periods and increased vulnerability or apparency to predators"
Keywords:		Animals *Herbivory Insecta Larva Manduca Plant Leaves Solanum *Manduca sexta *Solanaceae *defence *herbivores *spines;
Notes:		"MedlineKariyat, Rupesh R Hardison, Sean B De Moraes, Consuelo M Mescher, Mark C eng England 2017/05/12 Biol Lett. 2017 May; 13(5):20170176. doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2017.0176"