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Proc Biol Sci

Title:		A nutrition-defence trade-off drives diet choice in a toxic plant generalist
Author(s):		Carlson NJ; Agrawal AA;
Address:		"Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, 215 Tower Road, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA"
Journal Title:		Proc Biol Sci
Year:		2023
Volume:		20230809
Issue:		2004
Page Number:		20230987 -
DOI:		10.1098/rspb.2023.0987
ISSN/ISBN:		1471-2954 (Electronic) 0962-8452 (Print) 0962-8452 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Plant toxicity shapes the dietary choices of herbivores. Especially when herbivores sequester plant toxins, they may experience a trade-off between gaining protection from natural enemies and avoiding toxicity. The availability of toxins for sequestration may additionally trade off with the nutritional quality of a potential food source for sequestering herbivores. We hypothesized that diet mixing might allow a sequestering herbivore to balance nutrition and defence (via sequestration of plant toxins). Accordingly, here we address diet mixing and sequestration of large milkweed bugs (Oncopeltus fasciatus) when they have differential access to toxins (cardenolides) in their diet. In the absence of toxins from a preferred food (milkweed seeds), large milkweed bugs fed on nutritionally adequate non-toxic seeds, but supplemented their diet by feeding on nutritionally poor, but cardenolide-rich milkweed leaf and stem tissues. This dietary shift corresponded to reduced insect growth but facilitated sequestration of defensive toxins. Plant production of cardenolides was also substantially induced by bug feeding on leaf and stem tissues, perhaps benefitting this cardenolide-resistant herbivore. Thus, sequestration appears to drive diet mixing in this toxic plant generalist, even at the cost of feeding on nutritionally poor plant tissue"
Keywords:		"*Plants, Toxic Herbivory *Asclepias Diet Cardenolides Asclepias curassavica cardenolide large milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus plant-insect interactions sequestration toxic plant generalist;"
Notes:		"MedlineCarlson, Nathaniel J Agrawal, Anurag A eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. England 2023/08/09 Proc Biol Sci. 2023 Aug 9; 290(2004):20230987. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2023.0987. Epub 2023 Aug 9"