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Toxins (Basel)

Title:		Plant insecticidal toxins in ecological networks
Author(s):		Ibanez S; Gallet C; Despres L;
Address:		"Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, Community Ecology Unit, via Belsoggiorno 22, 6500 Bellinzona, Switzerland. sebastien.ibanez@wsl.ch"
Journal Title:		Toxins (Basel)
Year:		2012
Volume:		20120410
Issue:		4
Page Number:		228 - 243
DOI:		10.3390/toxins4040228
ISSN/ISBN:		2072-6651 (Electronic) 2072-6651 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Plant secondary metabolites play a key role in plant-insect interactions, whether constitutive or induced, C- or N-based. Anti-herbivore defences against insects can act as repellents, deterrents, growth inhibitors or cause direct mortality. In turn, insects have evolved a variety of strategies to act against plant toxins, e.g., avoidance, excretion, sequestration and degradation of the toxin, eventually leading to a co-evolutionary arms race between insects and plants and to co-diversification. Anti-herbivore defences also negatively impact mutualistic partners, possibly leading to an ecological cost of toxin production. However, in other cases toxins can also be used by plants involved in mutualistic interactions to exclude inadequate partners and to modify the cost/benefit ratio of mutualism to their advantage. When considering the whole community, toxins have an effect at many trophic levels. Aposematic insects sequester toxins to defend themselves against predators. Depending on the ecological context, toxins can either increase insects' vulnerability to parasitoids and entomopathogens or protect them, eventually leading to self-medication. We conclude that studying the community-level impacts of plant toxins can provide new insights into the synthesis between community and evolutionary ecology"
Keywords:		"Animals *Ecosystem Insecticides/*toxicity *Plants Toxins, Biological/*toxicity antagonism coevolution evolutionary arms race inter-guild interactions multitrophic interactions mutualism pollination predators repellent secondary metabolism symbionts toxic;"
Notes:		"MedlineIbanez, Sebastien Gallet, Christiane Despres, Laurence eng Review Switzerland 2012/05/19 Toxins (Basel). 2012 Apr; 4(4):228-43. doi: 10.3390/toxins4040228. Epub 2012 Apr 10"