Title: | "How detrimental are seed galls to their hosts? Plant performance, germination, developmental instability and tolerance to herbivory in Inga laurina, a leguminous tree" |
Author(s): | Santos JC; de Araujo NA; Venancio H; Andrade JF; Alves-Silva E; Almeida WR; Carmo-Oliveira R; |
Address: | "Instituto de Biologia (InBio), Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. jcsantos@ufu.br. Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Ecologia e Conservacao de Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. jcsantos@ufu.br. Instituto de Biologia (InBio), Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Programa de Pos-Graduacao em Ecologia e Conservacao de Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de Uberlandia, Uberlandia, Minas Gerais, Brazil" |
ISSN/ISBN: | 1438-8677 (Electronic) 1435-8603 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "Gall inducers use these structures as shelters and sources of nutrition. Consequently, they cause multiple physiological changes in host plants. We studied the impact caused by seed coat galls of a braconid wasp on the performance of fruits, seeds and seedlings of tree Inga laurina. We tested whether these seed galls are 'nutrient sinks' with respect to the fruit/seed of host plant, and so constrain the reproductive ability and reduce seedling longevity. We measured the influence of such galls on the secondary compounds, fruit and seed parameters, seed viability and germination and seedling performance. Inga laurina has indehiscent legumes with polyembryonic seeds surrounded by a fleshy sarcotesta rich in sugars. The galls formed inside the seed coat and galled tissues presented higher phenol concentrations, around 7-fold that of ungalled tissues. Galls caused a significant reduction in parameters such as fruit and seed size, seed weight and the number of embryos. Fluctuating asymmetry (a stress indicator) was 31% higher in leaves of galled seed plants in comparison to ungalled seed plants. However, the negative effects on fruit and seed parameters were not sufficient to reduce seed germination (except the synchronization index) or seedling performance (except leaf area and chlorophyll content). We attributed these results to the ability of I. laurina to tolerate gall attack on seeds without a marked influence on seedling performance. Moreover, because of the intensity of seed galling on host plant, we suggest that polyembryony may play a role in I. laurina reproduction increasing tolerance to seed damage" |
Keywords: | Animals Fabaceae/cytology/parasitology/*physiology Fruit/cytology/parasitology/physiology Germination Plant Leaves/cytology/parasitology/physiology Seedlings/cytology/parasitology/physiology Seeds/cytology/parasitology/physiology Trees Wasps/*physiology F; |
Notes: | "MedlineSantos, J C de Araujo, N A V Venancio, H Andrade, J F Alves-Silva, E Almeida, W R Carmo-Oliveira, R eng England 2016/10/21 Plant Biol (Stuttg). 2016 Nov; 18(6):962-972. doi: 10.1111/plb.12495. Epub 2016 Sep 27" |