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The ontogeny of plant defense: general patterns and genetic variation

植物防御的个体发育：一般模式和遗传变异

基本信息

批准号：
NE/E012418/1
负责人：
Kasey Barton
金额：
$ 27.35万
依托单位：
Royal Holloway University of London
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Fellowship
财政年份：
2008
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2008 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=NE%2FE012418%2F1
关键词：
ontogeny plant defense general patterns

项目摘要

Plants change dramatically as they develop from young seedlings to the mature adult stage, a progression called ontogeny. For traits involved in defense against herbivores, these ontogenetic patterns are key aspects of natural community dynamics, driving interactions between plants and herbivores. Plant defense traits include toxic chemicals and physical barriers, such as thorns, spines, and hairs, that deter herbivores, as well as plant traits that reduce the negative impacts of herbivores, such as the ability to regrow following damage. Concentrations of toxins, densities of thorns and spines, and regrowth rate may all change as plants develop, and these changes have consequences for the levels of herbivore damage plants experience. For example, some species of plants produce few defenses against herbivores during the seedling stage, and consequently, damage by herbivores is the highest during this vulnerable period. In contrast, other species of plants are relatively better defended against herbivores as seedlings than they are as adult plants, leading to higher levels of damage in older plants. Ontogenetic patterns in plant defense traits are common and have been documented in over 60 plant species. Yet, a general pattern has failed to emerge. Variation among species is likely to be biologically significant, caused by differences among plant species in their life history strategies (woody vs. herbaceous plants), primary defense traits (toxins, thorns, regrowth, etc.), and plant ages studied. The proposed research addresses two primary goals: 1) To synthesize the current literature using powerful statistical techniques (meta-analysis and graphical vector analysis) in order to reveal general patterns in the ontogeny of plant defense. These statistical analyses will also reveal what factors contribute to the variation observed among species (woody vs. herbaceous, kind of defense traits, plant ages, etc.). 2) To examine genetic variation in the ontogeny of plant defense by using a large-scale field experiment with silver birch in southwestern Finland. The second goal puts this work into a broader evolutionary context by considering whether the ontogeny of defense can respond to natural selection. If ontogenetic patterns in plant defense are to evolve in response to natural selection, there must be genetic variation in the ontogenetic patterns of traits. This key assumption, however, has rarely been tested. This research will be done in collaboration with Julia Koricheva at the School of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London. Dr. Koricheva is an internationally recognized expert in the use of meta-analysis for synthesis in ecology and evolution. She has used meta-analysis repeatedly to investigate key hypotheses in her primary field of expertise, plant-herbivore interactions. Furthermore, she developed the analytical tool, graphical vector analysis, that will be used to understand how plant defense traits change during ontogeny. Finally, Dr. Koricheva designed and has led the large-scale field experiment in southwestern Finland that will be used to measure genetic variation in silver birch. This collaboration will thus capitalize on my particular expertise in the ontogeny of plant defense, developed during investigations of plant defense for my Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Colorado (USA), and Dr. Koricheva's expertise in meta-analysis and graphical vector analysis. This research will make a significant contribution to our understanding of the evolution of plant defense by elucidating the role of ontogeny in defense and herbivory.

植物从幼苗发育到成熟的成年阶段，会发生巨大的变化，这一过程称为个体发育。对于参与防御食草动物的特征，这些个体发生模式是自然群落动态的关键方面，驱动植物和食草动物之间的相互作用。植物防御性状包括有毒化学物质和物理屏障，如刺，刺和毛，阻止食草动物，以及减少食草动物负面影响的植物性状，如受损后再生的能力。毒素的浓度、刺和刺的密度以及再生率都可能随着植物的发育而变化，这些变化会对植物遭受草食动物损害的程度产生影响。例如，有些植物在幼苗阶段对食草动物几乎没有防御能力，因此，在这个脆弱时期，食草动物的损害是最高的。相比之下，其他种类的植物作为幼苗比作为成年植物相对更好地抵御食草动物，导致老年植物受到更高程度的损害。植物防御性状的个体发生模式是常见的，并已在60多个植物物种中被记录。然而，没有出现一个普遍的模式。物种间的变异可能具有生物学意义，这是由植物物种在生活史策略（木本植物与草本植物）、主要防御性状（毒素、刺、再生等）、植物年龄研究本研究的主要目的是：1）综合目前的文献，使用强大的统计技术（元分析和图形矢量分析），以揭示植物防御的个体发生的一般模式。这些统计分析还将揭示哪些因素导致了物种间的变异（木本与草本，防御性状的种类，植物年龄等）。2)通过在芬兰西南部对银进行大规模田间试验，研究植物防御个体发生中的遗传变异。第二个目标将这项工作纳入更广泛的进化背景，考虑防御的个体发育是否可以对自然选择做出反应。如果植物防御的个体发生模式是为了响应自然选择而进化的，那么在性状的个体发生模式中就必须存在遗传变异。然而，这一关键假设很少得到验证。这项研究将与伦敦皇家霍洛威大学生物科学学院的朱莉娅·科里切娃合作完成。Koricheva博士是国际公认的生态学和进化综合荟萃分析专家。她多次使用元分析来研究她的主要专业领域，植物-食草动物相互作用的关键假设。此外，她开发了分析工具，图形矢量分析，将用于了解植物防御性状如何在个体发育过程中变化。最后，Koricheva博士设计并领导了芬兰西南部的大规模实地实验，该实验将用于测量银的遗传变异。因此，这种合作将利用我在植物防御个体发生学方面的特殊专长，这是我在博士研究植物防御过程中发展起来的。他在科罗拉多大学（美国）的博士论文，以及Koricheva博士在荟萃分析和图形向量分析方面的专业知识。本研究将通过阐明个体发育在防御和植食中的作用，为我们理解植物防御的进化做出重要贡献。