Cotton plants as ideal models for teaching and research on inducible direct plant defenses
Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) stores defensive compounds in glands covering its leaves and other tissues. The density and the chemical filling of these glands increase systematically in developing leaves in response to herbivory on older leaves. Cotton seedlings are known to respond more strongly to a...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1119472/full |
| _version_ | 1797903990593159168 |
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| author | Marine Mamin Armelle Vallat Ted C. J. Turlings |
| author_facet | Marine Mamin Armelle Vallat Ted C. J. Turlings |
| author_sort | Marine Mamin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) stores defensive compounds in glands covering its leaves and other tissues. The density and the chemical filling of these glands increase systematically in developing leaves in response to herbivory on older leaves. Cotton seedlings are known to respond more strongly to actual caterpillar herbivory than to mere physical damage. It is not clear whether this amplified response is linked to insect-derived elicitors or difference in damage properties. To investigate this, we assessed the effect of repeated artificial damage without and with application of regurgitant from Spodoptera exigua caterpillars. Repeated mechanical damage led to a systemic increase of gland density, gland size, and content of defensive terpenes, with no detectable additional elicitation upon regurgitant treatment. Dual choice feeding assays further showed that defense induction triggered by just physical damage made newly developing leaves far less palatable to S. exigua larvae as compared to leaves from undamaged seedlings, whereas they did not distinguish between leaves from damaged plants treated with or without regurgitant. Our study confirms that the systemic induction of cotton glands is an unspecific response to physical damage, although cotton is known to respond to caterpillar-associated elicitors for other defensive traits. Cotton glands induction can be readily visualized under modest magnification, making the experiments described in this study highly suited to teach chemical ecology and aspects of plant defense theory in practical classes. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:41:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1adb92ea31db457aae97152b9d3361d5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2296-701X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T09:41:34Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution |
| spelling | doaj.art-1adb92ea31db457aae97152b9d3361d52023-02-17T07:32:35ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution2296-701X2023-02-011110.3389/fevo.2023.11194721119472Cotton plants as ideal models for teaching and research on inducible direct plant defensesMarine Mamin0Armelle Vallat1Ted C. J. Turlings2Laboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandNeuchâtel Plateform of Analytical Chemistry, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandLaboratory of Fundamental and Applied Research in Chemical Ecology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, SwitzerlandCotton (Gossypium hirsutum) stores defensive compounds in glands covering its leaves and other tissues. The density and the chemical filling of these glands increase systematically in developing leaves in response to herbivory on older leaves. Cotton seedlings are known to respond more strongly to actual caterpillar herbivory than to mere physical damage. It is not clear whether this amplified response is linked to insect-derived elicitors or difference in damage properties. To investigate this, we assessed the effect of repeated artificial damage without and with application of regurgitant from Spodoptera exigua caterpillars. Repeated mechanical damage led to a systemic increase of gland density, gland size, and content of defensive terpenes, with no detectable additional elicitation upon regurgitant treatment. Dual choice feeding assays further showed that defense induction triggered by just physical damage made newly developing leaves far less palatable to S. exigua larvae as compared to leaves from undamaged seedlings, whereas they did not distinguish between leaves from damaged plants treated with or without regurgitant. Our study confirms that the systemic induction of cotton glands is an unspecific response to physical damage, although cotton is known to respond to caterpillar-associated elicitors for other defensive traits. Cotton glands induction can be readily visualized under modest magnification, making the experiments described in this study highly suited to teach chemical ecology and aspects of plant defense theory in practical classes.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1119472/fullcottongossypol glandsterpenoid aldehydesvolatile terpenesconstitutive and induced plant defensemechanical damage |
| spellingShingle | Marine Mamin Armelle Vallat Ted C. J. Turlings Cotton plants as ideal models for teaching and research on inducible direct plant defenses Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution cotton gossypol glands terpenoid aldehydes volatile terpenes constitutive and induced plant defense mechanical damage |
| title | Cotton plants as ideal models for teaching and research on inducible direct plant defenses |
| title_full | Cotton plants as ideal models for teaching and research on inducible direct plant defenses |
| title_fullStr | Cotton plants as ideal models for teaching and research on inducible direct plant defenses |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cotton plants as ideal models for teaching and research on inducible direct plant defenses |
| title_short | Cotton plants as ideal models for teaching and research on inducible direct plant defenses |
| title_sort | cotton plants as ideal models for teaching and research on inducible direct plant defenses |
| topic | cotton gossypol glands terpenoid aldehydes volatile terpenes constitutive and induced plant defense mechanical damage |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2023.1119472/full |
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