| Title: | Tritrophic interactions follow phylogenetic escalation and climatic adaptation |
| Author(s): | Kergunteuil A; Humair L; Maire AL; Moreno-Aguilar MF; Godschalx A; Catalan P; Rasmann S; |
| Address: | "Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchatel, Switzerland. INRAE, UMR Laboratoire d'Agronomie et Environnement, Vandoeuvre-les, 54518, Nancy, France. Botanical Garden Neuchatel, Chemin du Pertuis-du-Sault 58, 2000, Neuchatel, Switzerland. Departamento de Ciencias Agrarias y del Medio Natural, Escuela Politecnica Superior de Huesca, Universidad de Zaragoza, Ctra. Cuarte km 1, 22071, Huesca, Spain. Grupo de Bioquimica, Biofisica y Biologia Computacional (BIFI, UNIZAR), Unidad Asociada al CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain. Department of Botany, Institute of Biology, Tomsk State University, Lenin Av. 36, Tomsk, 634050, Russia. Institute of Biology, University of Neuchatel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchatel, Switzerland. sergio.rasmann@unine.ch" |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-020-59068-2 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "One major goal in plant evolutionary ecology is to address how and why tritrophic interactions mediated by phytochemical plant defences vary across species, space, and time. In this study, we tested three classical hypotheses about plant defences: (i) the resource-availability hypothesis, (ii) the altitudinal/elevational gradient hypothesis and (iii) the defence escalation hypothesis. For this purpose, predatory soil nematodes were challenged to hunt for root herbivores based on volatile cues from damaged or intact roots of 18 Alpine Festuca grass species adapted to distinct climatic niches spanning 2000 meters of elevation. We found that adaptation into harsh, nutrient-limited alpine environments coincided with the production of specific blends of volatiles, highly attractive for nematodes. We also found that recently-diverged taxa exposed to herbivores released higher amounts of volatiles than ancestrally-diverged species. Therefore, our model provides evidence that belowground indirect plant defences associated with tritrophic interactions have evolved under two classical hypotheses in plant ecology. While phylogenetic drivers of volatile emissions point to the defence-escalation hypothesis, plant local adaptation of indirect defences is in line with the resource availability hypothesis" |
| Keywords: | "Adaptation, Physiological/genetics Altitude Animals Biological Evolution *Climate Ecosystem Festuca/genetics/metabolism/physiology *Herbivory/genetics/physiology *Nematoda Phylogeography Plant Physiological Phenomena/*genetics Soil Volatile Organic Compou;" |
| Notes: | "MedlineKergunteuil, Alan Humair, Laureline Maire, Anne-Laure Moreno-Aguilar, Maria Fernanda Godschalx, Adrienne Catalan, Pilar Rasmann, Sergio eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2020/02/09 Sci Rep. 2020 Feb 7; 10(1):2074. doi: 10.1038/s41598-020-59068-2" |
