Opposing Effects of <i>Ceanothus velutinus</i> Phytochemistry on Herbivore Communities at Multiple Scales
Identifying the interactions of functional, biotic, and abiotic factors that define plant–insect communities has long been a goal of community ecologists. Metabolomics approaches facilitate a broader understanding of how phytochemistry mediates the functional interactions among ecological factors. &...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-06-01
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| Series: | Metabolites |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/11/6/361 |
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| author | Casey S. Philbin Matthew Paulsen Lora A. Richards |
| author_facet | Casey S. Philbin Matthew Paulsen Lora A. Richards |
| author_sort | Casey S. Philbin |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Identifying the interactions of functional, biotic, and abiotic factors that define plant–insect communities has long been a goal of community ecologists. Metabolomics approaches facilitate a broader understanding of how phytochemistry mediates the functional interactions among ecological factors. <i>Ceanothus velutinus</i> communities are a relatively unstudied system for investigating chemically mediated interactions. <i>Ceanothus</i> are nitrogen-fixing, fire-adapted plants that establish early post-fire, and produce antimicrobial cyclic peptides, linear peptides, and flavonoids. This study takes a metabolomic approach to understanding how the diversity and variation of <i>C. velutinus</i> phytochemistry influences associated herbivore and parasitoid communities at multiple spatiotemporal scales. Herbivores and foliar samples were collected over three collection times at two sites on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. Foliar tissue was subjected to LC-MS metabolomic analysis, and several novel statistical analyses were applied to summarize, quantify, and annotate variation in the <i>C. velutinus</i> metabolome. We found that phytochemistry played an important role in plant–insect community structure across an elevational gradient. Flavonoids were found to mediate biotic and abiotic influences on herbivores and associated parasitoids, while foliar oligopeptides played a significant positive role in herbivore abundance, even more than abundance of host plants and leaf abundance. The importance of nutritional and defense chemistry in mediating ecological interactions in <i>C. velutinus</i> plant–herbivore communities was established, justifying larger scale studies of this plant system that incorporate other mediators of phytochemistry such as genetic and metageomic contributions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:39:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-94a67fbd322f4469bfbbb8069305facc |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2218-1989 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T10:39:12Z |
| publishDate | 2021-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Metabolites |
| spelling | doaj.art-94a67fbd322f4469bfbbb8069305facc2023-11-21T23:06:12ZengMDPI AGMetabolites2218-19892021-06-0111636110.3390/metabo11060361Opposing Effects of <i>Ceanothus velutinus</i> Phytochemistry on Herbivore Communities at Multiple ScalesCasey S. Philbin0Matthew Paulsen1Lora A. Richards2Hitchcock Center for Chemical Ecology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USAHitchcock Center for Chemical Ecology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USAHitchcock Center for Chemical Ecology, University of Nevada, Reno, NV 89557, USAIdentifying the interactions of functional, biotic, and abiotic factors that define plant–insect communities has long been a goal of community ecologists. Metabolomics approaches facilitate a broader understanding of how phytochemistry mediates the functional interactions among ecological factors. <i>Ceanothus velutinus</i> communities are a relatively unstudied system for investigating chemically mediated interactions. <i>Ceanothus</i> are nitrogen-fixing, fire-adapted plants that establish early post-fire, and produce antimicrobial cyclic peptides, linear peptides, and flavonoids. This study takes a metabolomic approach to understanding how the diversity and variation of <i>C. velutinus</i> phytochemistry influences associated herbivore and parasitoid communities at multiple spatiotemporal scales. Herbivores and foliar samples were collected over three collection times at two sites on the east slope of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. Foliar tissue was subjected to LC-MS metabolomic analysis, and several novel statistical analyses were applied to summarize, quantify, and annotate variation in the <i>C. velutinus</i> metabolome. We found that phytochemistry played an important role in plant–insect community structure across an elevational gradient. Flavonoids were found to mediate biotic and abiotic influences on herbivores and associated parasitoids, while foliar oligopeptides played a significant positive role in herbivore abundance, even more than abundance of host plants and leaf abundance. The importance of nutritional and defense chemistry in mediating ecological interactions in <i>C. velutinus</i> plant–herbivore communities was established, justifying larger scale studies of this plant system that incorporate other mediators of phytochemistry such as genetic and metageomic contributions.https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/11/6/361metabolomicscommunity ecologychemical ecologymass spectrometry<i>Ceanothus</i> <i>velutinus</i>lepidoptera |
| spellingShingle | Casey S. Philbin Matthew Paulsen Lora A. Richards Opposing Effects of <i>Ceanothus velutinus</i> Phytochemistry on Herbivore Communities at Multiple Scales Metabolites metabolomics community ecology chemical ecology mass spectrometry <i>Ceanothus</i> <i>velutinus</i> lepidoptera |
| title | Opposing Effects of <i>Ceanothus velutinus</i> Phytochemistry on Herbivore Communities at Multiple Scales |
| title_full | Opposing Effects of <i>Ceanothus velutinus</i> Phytochemistry on Herbivore Communities at Multiple Scales |
| title_fullStr | Opposing Effects of <i>Ceanothus velutinus</i> Phytochemistry on Herbivore Communities at Multiple Scales |
| title_full_unstemmed | Opposing Effects of <i>Ceanothus velutinus</i> Phytochemistry on Herbivore Communities at Multiple Scales |
| title_short | Opposing Effects of <i>Ceanothus velutinus</i> Phytochemistry on Herbivore Communities at Multiple Scales |
| title_sort | opposing effects of i ceanothus velutinus i phytochemistry on herbivore communities at multiple scales |
| topic | metabolomics community ecology chemical ecology mass spectrometry <i>Ceanothus</i> <i>velutinus</i> lepidoptera |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2218-1989/11/6/361 |
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