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

该提案探讨了为什么一些常见的水果，如致命的龙葵，对消费者有毒。这些水果可能对那些通常会损害果实或种子的消费者有选择性的毒性。通过从茄科植物的果实中分离出毒素（糖生物碱），并将其少量提供给不同的动物，这项研究将验证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。本研究的应用意义是双重的：(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减少它们的毒性，并可能导致新的粮食作物的开发；几种茄科植物是令人烦恼的农业杂草，它们的有毒果实经常污染农作物，这项研究是找到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.