Glycoalkaloids of Solanaceous Fruits: Significance as Mediators of Interactions among Fruiting Plants and Their Frugivores

这项提案调查了为什么一些常见的水果，如致命的茄子，对消费者是有毒的。这些水果对那些通常会损害水果或种子的消费者来说可能是选择性的有毒物质。通过从茄科水果中分离出毒素(糖类生物碱)，并将其少量提供给不同的动物，这项研究将检验这一假设和几种替代方案。这项工作将有助于通过植物-动物相互作用的综合方法来解释生物多样性的模式和维持。本研究的应用意义有两个方面：(1)由于许多茄科植物是重要的粮食作物(如土豆、西红柿)，了解其他茄科植物有毒的原因将有助于降低它们的毒性，并可能导致开发新的粮食作物；(2)几个茄科植物是麻烦的农业杂草，其有毒的果实经常污染农作物，这项研究是寻找对抗这种毒性的方法的第一步。通过更多地了解这些杂草的生态，我们可以更好地控制它们的传播。

This proposal examines why some common fruits, such as deadly nightshade, are poisonous to consumers. These fruits may be selectively toxic to those consumers that would normally damage the fruits or seeds. By isolating toxins (glycoalkaloids) form fruits in the Solanaceae and offering them in small quantities to different animals, this research will test this hypothesis and several alternatives. The work will help explain patterns and maintenance of biodiversity through an integrative approach to plant-animal interactions. The applied significance of the research is two-fold: (1) Since many species of Solanaceae are important food crops (e.g., potatoes, tomatoes), an understanding of what makes other Solanaceae poisonous will aid in reducing their toxicity and may lead to the development of new food crops; (2) several Solanaceae are troublesome agricultural weeds whose toxic fruits often contaminate crops, and this research is a first step in finding ways of countering this toxicity. By discovering more about the ecology of these weeds, we can better control their spread.