A1 Vertaisarvioitu alkuperäisartikkeli tieteellisessä lehdessä

Epichloe Endophytes Alter Inducible Indirect Defences in Host Grasses




TekijätTao Li, James D. Blande, Pedro E. Gundel, Marjo Helander, Kari Saikkonen

KustantajaPUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE

Julkaisuvuosi2014

JournalPLoS ONE

Tietokannassa oleva lehden nimiPLOS ONE

Lehden akronyymiPLOS ONE

Artikkelin numeroe101331

Vuosikerta9

Numero6

Sivujen määrä11

ISSN1932-6203

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0101331

Rinnakkaistallenteen osoitehttps://research.utu.fi/converis/portal/detail/Publication/3079514


Tiivistelmä

Epichloe endophytes are common symbionts living asymptomatically in pooid grasses and may provide chemical defences against herbivorous insects. While the mechanisms underlying these fungal defences have been well studied, it remains unknown whether endophyte presence affects the host's own defences. We addressed this issue by examining variation in the impact of Epichloe on constitutive and herbivore-induced emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC), a well-known indirect plant defence, between two grass species, Schedonorus phoenix (ex. Festuca arundinacea; tall fescue) and Festuca pratensis (meadow fescue). We found that feeding by a generalist aphid species, Rhopalosiphum padi, induced VOC emissions by uninfected plants of both grass species but to varying extents, while mechanical wounding failed to do so in both species after one day of damage. Interestingly, regardless of damage treatment, Epichloe uncinata-infected F. pratensis emitted significantly lower quantities of VOCs than their uninfected counterparts. In contrast, Epichloe coenophiala-infected S. phoenix did not differ from their uninfected counterparts in constitutive VOC emissions but tended to increase VOC emissions under intense aphid feeding. A multivariate analysis showed that endophyte status imposed stronger differences in VOC profiles of F. pratensis than damage treatment, while the reverse was true for S. phoenix. Additionally, both endophytes inhibited R. padi population growth as measured by aphid dry biomass, with the inhibition appearing greater in E. uncinata-infected F. pratensis. Our results suggest, not only that Epichloe endophytes may play important roles in mediating host VOC responses to herbivory, but also that the magnitude and direction of such responses may vary with the identity of the Epichloe-grass symbiosis. Whether Epichloe-mediated host VOC responses will eventually translate into effects on higher trophic levels merits future investigation.


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