Tissue-Specific Emission of (E)-α-Bergamotene Helps Resolve the Dilemma When Pollinators Are Also Herbivores.
Curr Biol
; 27(9): 1336-1341, 2017 May 08.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-28434859
ABSTRACT
More than 87% of flowering plant species are animal-pollinated [1] and produce floral scents and other signals to attract pollinators. These floral cues may however also attract antagonistic visitors, including herbivores [2]. The dilemma is exacerbated when adult insects pollinate the same plant that their larvae consume. It remains largely unclear how plants maximize their fitness under these circumstances. Here we show that in the night-flowering wild tobacco Nicotiana attenuata, the emission of a sesquiterpene, (E)-α-bergamotene, in flowers increases adult Manduca sexta moth-mediated pollination success, while the same compound in leaves is known to mediate indirect defense against M. sexta larvae [3, 4]. Forward and reverse genetic analyses demonstrated that both herbivory-induced and floral (E)-α-bergamotene are regulated by the expression of a monoterpene-synthase-derived sesquiterpene synthase (NaTPS38). The expression pattern of NaTPS38 also accounts for variation in (E)-α-bergamotene emission among natural accessions. These results highlight that differential expression of a single gene that results in tissue-specific emission of one compound contributes to resolving the dilemma for plants when their pollinators are also herbivores. Furthermore, this study provides genetic evidence that pollinators and herbivores interactively shape the evolution of floral signals and plant defense.
Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Nicotiana
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Compostos Bicíclicos com Pontes
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Folhas de Planta
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Manduca
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Polinização
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Herbivoria
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Curr Biol
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2017
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Alemanha