| Title: | Talking Different Languages: The Role of Plant-Plant Communication When an Invader Beats up a Strange Neighborhood |
| Author(s): | Hall RM; Markovic D; Kaul HP; Wagentristl H; Urban B; Durec N; Renner-Martin K; Ninkovic V; |
| Address: | "Institute of Agronomy, University of Natural Resources and Life Science, 3430 Tulln an der Donau, Austria. Institute of Botany, University of Natural Resources and Life Science, 1180 Vienna, Austria. Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SE-75007 Uppsala, Sweden. Faculty of Agriculture, University of Banja Luka, 78000 Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Experimental Farm Gross-Enzerdorf, University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, 2301 Gross-Enzersdorf, Austria. Institute of Mathematics, University of Natural Resources and Life Science, 1180 Vienna, Austria" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2223-7747 (Print) 2223-7747 (Electronic) 2223-7747 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Communication through airborne volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and root exudates plays a vital role in the multifarious interactions of plants. Common ragweed (Ambrosia artemesiifolia L.) is one of the most troublesome invasive alien species in agriculture. Below- and aboveground chemical interactions of ragweed with crops might be an important factor in the invasive species' success in agriculture. In laboratory experiments, we investigated the contribution of intra- and interspecific airborne VOCs and root exudates of ragweed to its competitiveness. Wheat, soybean, and maize were exposed to VOCs emitted from ragweed and vice versa, and the adaptation response was measured through plant morphological and physiological traits. We observed significant changes in plant traits of crops in response to ragweed VOCs, characterized by lower biomass production, lower specific leaf area, or higher chlorophyll contents. After exposure to ragweed VOCs, soybean and wheat produced significantly less aboveground dry mass, whereas maize did not. Ragweed remained unaffected when exposed to VOCs from the crops or a conspecific. All crops and ragweed significantly avoided root growth toward the root exudates of ragweed. The study shows that the plant response to either above- or belowground chemical cues is highly dependent on the identity of the neighbor, pointing out the complexity of plant-plant communication in plant communities" |
| Keywords: | adaptation crops interspecies interaction intraspecies interaction invasive species kin recognition root exudates volatile organic compounds; |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEHall, Rea Maria Markovic, Dimitrije Kaul, Hans-Peter Wagentristl, Helmut Urban, Bernhard Durec, Nora Renner-Martin, Katharina Ninkovic, Velemir eng DOC scholarship/Austrian Academy of Sciences/ 773554/European Union's Horizon 2020/ Switzerland 2023/09/28 Plants (Basel). 2023 Sep 18; 12(18):3298. doi: 10.3390/plants12183298" |
