DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Ecological and Evolutionary Consequences of Natural Selection by Herbivores on Solidago altissima Defense Strategies

论文研究：草食动物自然选择对一枝黄花防御策略的生态和进化后果

• 批准号: 1010726
• 负责人: Andre Kessler
• 金额: $ 1.01万
• 依托单位: Cornell University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2010
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2010-06-01 至 2011-05-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1010726&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: DISSERTATION; RESEARCH; Ecological; Evolutionary; Consequences

Plants defend themselves against herbivores in many different ways, including some defenses that are always expressed, and others that are only expressed when an herbivore is attacking. In order for a plant to best use its resources, defenses expressed only when an herbivore attacks should be effective against that herbivore, and ineffective defenses should not be expressed at that time. This project addresses the specific elicitation and biological function of antidigestive proteins induced by different herbivores in goldenrod plants. The project will study the expression of specific defenses expressed in response to herbivore attack by treating plants with two types of natural herbivores (a generalist and a specialist) and mechanical damage. Furthermore, the study will address the impact of herbivory on the evolution of specific plant defense responses by comparing plants from plots of a long-term herbivore-exclusion treatment and control plots exposed to natural herbivore attack. Hypothetically, long-term herbivore removal will select for plants with defense responses to herbivory that are more generalized or smaller in magnitude.Understanding the complexity of plant responses to herbivory is not only necessary to explore plant defenses as a strategy in sustainable pest control in agriculture but will also pave the way for understanding the adaptive value of induced defenses. This project will look at natural variation, and will study the effects of natural selection by herbivores on plant traits of herbivore resistance. It will allow training of undergraduate students in the field of Molecular and Chemical Ecology that has been identified as one of the focus fields of ecological research at Cornell. Results and plants from the study will be used as a resource for undergraduate classes.

植物以许多不同的方式防御食草动物，包括一些总是表达的防御，以及其他只有在食草动物攻击时才表达的防御。为了使植物最好地利用其资源，只有在食草动物攻击时才表达的防御应该对该食草动物有效，而无效的防御不应该在那个时候表达。本项目研究了不同昆虫诱导的一枝黄花抗消化蛋白的特异性表达及其生物学功能。该项目将研究表达的特定防御反应草食动物攻击通过处理植物与两种类型的天然草食动物（通才和专家）和机械损伤。此外，这项研究将解决草食动物对特定植物防御反应的演变的影响，通过比较植物从长期的草食动物排除处理和控制地块暴露于自然草食动物的攻击。从理论上讲，长期的植食动物清除将选择防御反应的植物，植食动物是更普遍或更小的幅度。了解植物对植食动物的反应的复杂性，不仅是必要的，探索植物防御作为一种战略，在农业可持续控制害虫，但也将铺平道路，了解诱导防御的适应价值。这个项目将着眼于自然变异，并将研究食草动物的自然选择对植物抗食草动物性状的影响。它将允许在分子和化学生态学领域培养本科生，该领域已被确定为康奈尔大学生态研究的重点领域之一。 研究结果和植物将被用作本科课程的资源。