C-RUI: Linking Ecology, Leaf Chemistry, and Plant Genetics to Assess Abiotic and Biotic Determinants of Herbivory

摘要在自然界中，昆虫吃植物的程度（食草性）在不同的地方会有很大的差异。 科学家们传统上假设物理环境可以影响植物，这反过来又会影响植物抵御草食动物的能力。 因此，当地条件的变化是驱动某些植物被吃掉的程度的原因。 最近，对食草动物的关注已经从这些环境影响转向生物影响。 这包括研究食草昆虫的捕食者和寄生虫如何通过这些昆虫食用的植物发出化学信号。换句话说，植物正在使用芳香或挥发性化学物质来吸引敌人。 这种类型的相互作用被称为三营养相互作用，因为它涉及三个摄食或营养水平：植物，草食性昆虫和草食性昆虫的捕食者或寄生虫。 其他影响植食水平的生物因素包括与其他植物的相互作用，以及植物遗传组成的变化。 许多研究都集中在物理环境，特别是光，如何影响植物-昆虫相互作用，但没有考虑生物因素，如三营养相互作用。 相反，生物因素的研究没有考虑到物理环境的变化。 由于没有同时考虑当地的环境条件和生物因素，草食动物在自然界或农业系统中如何变化的全貌还没有得到充分的理解。 在这项研究中，植物生态学家，分析化学家，昆虫分子生物学家和统计学家将采取综合方法来研究光如何与生物因素相互作用，以确定自然系统中的食草动物水平。 我们的研究将集中在毛虫，郁金香树美容或Epimecis hortaria，及其主要食物来源香料布什或Lindera安息香。 这些本地昆虫和植物在东北部的森林中非常丰富。 这种植物，香料树，很容易通过它的芳香条件或挥发性化学成分识别。 这项工作的跨学科和协作方面及其在穆伦贝格学院（一个致力于广泛科学培训和社区推广的本科院校）的发生，将为实现重大，更广泛的影响提供机会。 在调查人员的指导下，作为科学领域已经充满活力的夏季研究计划的一部分，本科生将开发独立的研究项目，以支持这项工作的总体目标。 参与的学生将有机会充分参与科学，包括项目构思，实验设计，实地和实验室研究，数据分析，在内部和国家会议上展示，以及为专业期刊撰写文章。 在我们的工作中，我们将整合多种方法来研究生物系统。研究人员将为参与本研究的学生，所有科学和更广泛的穆伦贝格大学社区的其他教师和学生研究人员，以及通过现有的推广计划与该项目互动的当地高中学生及其教师建立模型。 博士后研究助理将接受科学培训和经验，并为主要本科院校的教学/研究生涯做好准备。研究人员还将设计和教授基于该合作研究项目的植物-昆虫相互作用的跨学科研究/研讨会课程。这种研究模式将有助于消除特定学科研究的障碍，并表明合作对于充分理解生物系统至关重要。 欲了解更多信息，请访问项目网页：http://www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/biology/faculty/niesenbaum/nsf-crui.html。

AbstractIn nature, the degree to which insects eat plants (herbivory) can be quite variable from location to location. Scientists have traditionally hypothesized that the physical environment can influence a plant, which in turn affects the ability of that plant to defend itself against herbivory. Thus, variation in local conditions is what drives the degree to which certain plants get eaten. More recently, the focus on herbivory has shifted from these environmental influences to biological influences. This has included studies of how predators and parasites of insect herbivores can be signaled chemically by plants being eaten by those insects. In other words, plants are using aromatic or volatile chemicals to attract enemies to their enemies. This type of interaction is referred to as a tritrophic interaction because it involves three feeding or trophic levels: the plant, the herbivore insect, and the predators or parasites of the herbivore. Other biological factors that can influence levels of herbivory include interactions with other plants, and variation in the genetic make-up of the plants.Research on herbivory has typically taken an either-or approach. Many studies have focused on how the physical environment, particularly light, influences plant-insect interactions, but have not considered biological factors such as tritrophic interactions. Conversely, studies of biological factors have been done without considering variation in the physical environment. By not considering both the local environmental conditions and the biological factors simultaneously, the complete picture of how herbivory varies in nature or in agricultural systems has not been fully understood. In this study, a plant ecologist, analytical chemist, insect molecular biologist, and a statistician will take an integrative approach to examine how light interacts with biotic factors in determining levels of herbivory in a natural system. Our study will focus on the caterpillar, Tulip Tree Beauty or Epimecis hortaria, and its primary food source Spicebush or Lindera benzoin. These native insects and plants are abundant in Northeastern forests. The plant, Spicebush, is easily recognizable by its aromatic condition or volatile chemistry. The interdisciplinary and collaborative aspect of this work and its occurrence at Muhlenberg College, an undergraduate institution dedicated to broad scientific training and community outreach, will provide the opportunity for achieving significant, broader impacts. With the guidance of the investigators and as part of an already vibrant summer research program in the sciences, undergraduate students will develop independent research projects that will support the overall goals of this work. Participating students will have the opportunity to engage fully in science including project conception, experimental design, field and laboratory research, data analysis, presenting in-house and at national meetings, and writing for professional journals. In our work we will integrate a diversity of approaches to studying biological systems. The investigators will model this for students that participate in this research, the other faculty and student researchers in all of sciences and the broader Muhlenberg College community, and local high school students and their teachers who the project interacts with through the existing outreach programming. A Post-Doctoral Research Associate will receive scientific training and experience and preparation for a teaching/research career at a primarily undergraduate institution. The investigators will also design and teach an interdisciplinary research/seminar course on plant-insect interactions that is based on this collaborative research project. This model of research will serve to help remove the barriers of specific, discipline-based research, and show that collaboration is vital for fully understanding biological systems. For more information please visit the project web page at: http://www.muhlenberg.edu/depts/biology/faculty/niesenbaum/nsf-crui.html.