Biomechanical Properties of Hemlocks: A Novel Approach to Evaluating Physical Barriers of the Plant–Insect Interface and Resistance to a Phloem-Feeding Herbivore
Micromechanical properties that help mediate herbivore access may be particularly important when considering herbivorous insects that feed with piercing-sucking stylets. We used microindentation to quantify the micromechanical properties of hemlock, Tsuga spp., to quantify the hardness of the feed...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2014-06-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/5/2/364 |
| _version_ | 1811298937432178688 |
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| author | Paul Ayayee Fuqian Yang Lynne K. Rieske |
| author_facet | Paul Ayayee Fuqian Yang Lynne K. Rieske |
| author_sort | Paul Ayayee |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Micromechanical properties that help mediate herbivore access may be particularly important when considering herbivorous insects that feed with piercing-sucking stylets. We used microindentation to quantify the micromechanical properties of hemlock, Tsuga spp., to quantify the hardness of the feeding site of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae. We measured hardness of the hemlock leaf cushion, the stylet insertion point of the adelgid, across four seasons in a 1 y period for four hemlock species growing in a common garden, including eastern, western, mountain, and northern Japanese hemlocks. Leaf cushion hardness was highest in the fall and winter and lowest in summer for all species. Northern Japanese hemlock had relatively greater hardness than the remaining species. Our data contributes an additional perspective to the existing framework within which greater susceptibility and subsequent mortality of eastern hemlocks is observed. The potential application of microindentation to understanding the nature and relevance of plant mechanical defenses in plant–herbivore interactions is also demonstrated and highlighted. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:26:26Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9a551f3004304a9d941475103faf8b8d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T06:26:26Z |
| publishDate | 2014-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-9a551f3004304a9d941475103faf8b8d2022-12-22T02:58:22ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502014-06-015236437610.3390/insects5020364insects5020364Biomechanical Properties of Hemlocks: A Novel Approach to Evaluating Physical Barriers of the Plant–Insect Interface and Resistance to a Phloem-Feeding HerbivorePaul Ayayee0Fuqian Yang1Lynne K. Rieske2Department of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S-225 Ag North, Lexington, KY 40546, USADepartment of Chemical and Materials Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USADepartment of Entomology, University of Kentucky, S-225 Ag North, Lexington, KY 40546, USAMicromechanical properties that help mediate herbivore access may be particularly important when considering herbivorous insects that feed with piercing-sucking stylets. We used microindentation to quantify the micromechanical properties of hemlock, Tsuga spp., to quantify the hardness of the feeding site of the invasive hemlock woolly adelgid, Adelges tsugae. We measured hardness of the hemlock leaf cushion, the stylet insertion point of the adelgid, across four seasons in a 1 y period for four hemlock species growing in a common garden, including eastern, western, mountain, and northern Japanese hemlocks. Leaf cushion hardness was highest in the fall and winter and lowest in summer for all species. Northern Japanese hemlock had relatively greater hardness than the remaining species. Our data contributes an additional perspective to the existing framework within which greater susceptibility and subsequent mortality of eastern hemlocks is observed. The potential application of microindentation to understanding the nature and relevance of plant mechanical defenses in plant–herbivore interactions is also demonstrated and highlighted.http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/5/2/364hemlock woolly adelgidconstitutive resistanceleaf cushionmicroindentation |
| spellingShingle | Paul Ayayee Fuqian Yang Lynne K. Rieske Biomechanical Properties of Hemlocks: A Novel Approach to Evaluating Physical Barriers of the Plant–Insect Interface and Resistance to a Phloem-Feeding Herbivore Insects hemlock woolly adelgid constitutive resistance leaf cushion microindentation |
| title | Biomechanical Properties of Hemlocks: A Novel Approach to Evaluating Physical Barriers of the Plant–Insect Interface and Resistance to a Phloem-Feeding Herbivore |
| title_full | Biomechanical Properties of Hemlocks: A Novel Approach to Evaluating Physical Barriers of the Plant–Insect Interface and Resistance to a Phloem-Feeding Herbivore |
| title_fullStr | Biomechanical Properties of Hemlocks: A Novel Approach to Evaluating Physical Barriers of the Plant–Insect Interface and Resistance to a Phloem-Feeding Herbivore |
| title_full_unstemmed | Biomechanical Properties of Hemlocks: A Novel Approach to Evaluating Physical Barriers of the Plant–Insect Interface and Resistance to a Phloem-Feeding Herbivore |
| title_short | Biomechanical Properties of Hemlocks: A Novel Approach to Evaluating Physical Barriers of the Plant–Insect Interface and Resistance to a Phloem-Feeding Herbivore |
| title_sort | biomechanical properties of hemlocks a novel approach to evaluating physical barriers of the plant insect interface and resistance to a phloem feeding herbivore |
| topic | hemlock woolly adelgid constitutive resistance leaf cushion microindentation |
| url | http://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/5/2/364 |
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