Induction of plant metabolites and feed-back on herbivores

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The metabolite pattern of a plant is a mirror of its physiological status and depends on diverse internal and external factors. The spatial and temporal pattern of changes in metabolite profiles of the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana in response to above- and belowground feeding herbivores and feedback effects of plant changes on these organisms will be in focus of this study to reveal mechanisms of ecological interactions. The aims are (I) to screen the pattern and time-course of metabolite induction in shoot and root tissue evoked by either aboveground (aphids) or belowground (endoparasitic nematodes) feeding herbivore species, (II) to identify key metabolites that are species-specifically induced and (III) to investigate the feed-back mechanisms of changed metabolic profiles on the herbivore behaviour and performance and thus the plant trait-mediated indirect interactions between aphids and nematodes. In the long term, data should be linked to plant gene-expression profiles to evaluate the signalling pathways mediating the physiological processes of this cross-talk. It is expected that herbivores of different feeding groups lead to locally and systemically highly specific plant responses and that the herbivores in turn are also affected to varying degrees by metabolite changes.