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Trade-offs between constitutive and induced resistance in wild crucifers shown by a natural, but not an artificial, elicitor

  • Plant-Animal Interactions - Original Paper
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Abstract

Constitutive and induced plant resistance against herbivores occurs throughout the plant kingdom, but little is known about the evolutionary relationship between these two types of resistances. We examined the relationships between constitutive and induced resistance to the diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, in 11 wild species of crucifers, and analyzed the changes in volatiles associated with their expression in two species. We used larvae of P. xylostella and jasmonic acid (JA) as elicitors of the induced response. The level of resistance was estimated as the relative number of eggs laid on the plants by P. xylostella. Substantial variation in constitutive resistance was observed among the 11 crucifer species. When the plants were damaged by larvae, a negative correlation was found between constitutive and induced resistance. However, a positive correlation was detected between constitutive and induced resistance when the plants were treated by JA. The shift in resistance was associated with changes in the emission of volatiles. These results strongly suggest that (1) a trade-off occurs between constitutive and induced resistance in wild crucifers, and that (2) such a trade-off can be observed by treating the plants with a natural, but not an artificial, elicitor.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Marcel Dicke, Wageningen University, The Netherlands for advice on data analysis and comments on the manuscript. This study was funded by the National Basic Research and Development Program of China (2002CB111403) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project No. 30471146). All experimental procedures comply with the current laws of China.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Insect Sciences, Zhejiang University, 268 Kaixuan Road, 310029, Hangzhou, China

    Peng-Jun Zhang, Jin-Ping Shu, Yun Zhou, Ying Hu & Shu-Sheng Liu

  2. College of Life Sciences, Zhejiang University, 310058, Hangzhou, China

    Cheng-Xin Fu

  3. School of Integrative Biology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, 4072, Australia

    Myron P. Zalucki

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  1. Peng-Jun Zhang
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  2. Jin-Ping Shu
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  4. Yun Zhou
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  5. Ying Hu
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  7. Shu-Sheng Liu
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Correspondence to Shu-Sheng Liu.

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Communicated by Richard Karban.

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Zhang, PJ., Shu, JP., Fu, CX. et al. Trade-offs between constitutive and induced resistance in wild crucifers shown by a natural, but not an artificial, elicitor. Oecologia 157, 83–92 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1060-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-008-1060-8

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