Positive association between foliar silicon and extrafloral nectar in Vicia faba with application of methyl jasmonate
Plants have evolved direct and indirect defences against herbivores, which may come at a cost to other plant functions. Many plants can uptake and deposit large amounts of silicon within plant tissue, creating structures which can reduce herbivore performance. Silicon uptake can increase plant defen...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Basic and Applied Ecology |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179124000884 |
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| author | Chelsea Megan Gowton Dennis Chiu Isaac John Peetoom Heida Juli Carrillo |
| author_facet | Chelsea Megan Gowton Dennis Chiu Isaac John Peetoom Heida Juli Carrillo |
| author_sort | Chelsea Megan Gowton |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Plants have evolved direct and indirect defences against herbivores, which may come at a cost to other plant functions. Many plants can uptake and deposit large amounts of silicon within plant tissue, creating structures which can reduce herbivore performance. Silicon uptake can increase plant defenses against herbivores, but it has also been shown to trade-off with defensive phenolic compounds due to interference with jasmonic acid (JA) signaling. Additionally, plants can recruit predacious insects with extrafloral nectar (EFN), a sugar secretion not involved in pollination. It is currently unclear whether silicon uptake reduces other putative defences associated with the JA pathway, like EFN production. We used faba bean (Vicia faba) to identify potential trade-offs between silicon accumulation, phenolic content, and EFN production. We grew four genotypes of faba bean that varied in tannin content in control soil, or soil supplemented with silicon. After five weeks of growth, we exposed plants to either a buffer or methyl jasmonate (MeJA) solution to simulate an herbivory response. We measured EFN production at 24 and 48 hours after treatment, and harvested leaves to quantify silicon and phenolic content. We found silicon supplementation, but not MeJA treatment, increased foliar silicon concentration. Silicon supplementation did not affect foliar phenolic content or EFN sugar content. Silicon concentration (ppm) and MeJA treatment did not decrease foliar phenolic content or EFN sugar content. However, we found an interaction between silicon concentration (ppm) and MeJA treatment with EFN sugar content: across MeJA-treated plants, we detected a positive association between foliar silicon concentration and the amount of sugar (mg) in EFN. This study is the first to show MeJA can interact with leaf silicon concentration to alter EFN response, with the potential for cascading effects on other trophic levels. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-f841f01a46d04b548d7c9d07343a0c92 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1439-1791 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Basic and Applied Ecology |
| spelling | doaj-art-f841f01a46d04b548d7c9d07343a0c922024-12-13T10:56:01ZengElsevierBasic and Applied Ecology1439-17912025-02-01821117Positive association between foliar silicon and extrafloral nectar in Vicia faba with application of methyl jasmonateChelsea Megan Gowton0Dennis Chiu1Isaac John Peetoom Heida2Juli Carrillo3Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Located on Traditional xwməθkwəýəm Musqueam Territory, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Corresponding author.Centre for Sustainable Food Systems, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Located on Traditional xwməθkwəýəm Musqueam Territory, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaCentre for Sustainable Food Systems, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Located on Traditional xwməθkwəýəm Musqueam Territory, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Alberta, 116 St & 85 Ave NW, Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaCentre for Sustainable Food Systems, Faculty of Land and Food Systems, University of British Columbia, Located on Traditional xwməθkwəýəm Musqueam Territory, 2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, CanadaPlants have evolved direct and indirect defences against herbivores, which may come at a cost to other plant functions. Many plants can uptake and deposit large amounts of silicon within plant tissue, creating structures which can reduce herbivore performance. Silicon uptake can increase plant defenses against herbivores, but it has also been shown to trade-off with defensive phenolic compounds due to interference with jasmonic acid (JA) signaling. Additionally, plants can recruit predacious insects with extrafloral nectar (EFN), a sugar secretion not involved in pollination. It is currently unclear whether silicon uptake reduces other putative defences associated with the JA pathway, like EFN production. We used faba bean (Vicia faba) to identify potential trade-offs between silicon accumulation, phenolic content, and EFN production. We grew four genotypes of faba bean that varied in tannin content in control soil, or soil supplemented with silicon. After five weeks of growth, we exposed plants to either a buffer or methyl jasmonate (MeJA) solution to simulate an herbivory response. We measured EFN production at 24 and 48 hours after treatment, and harvested leaves to quantify silicon and phenolic content. We found silicon supplementation, but not MeJA treatment, increased foliar silicon concentration. Silicon supplementation did not affect foliar phenolic content or EFN sugar content. Silicon concentration (ppm) and MeJA treatment did not decrease foliar phenolic content or EFN sugar content. However, we found an interaction between silicon concentration (ppm) and MeJA treatment with EFN sugar content: across MeJA-treated plants, we detected a positive association between foliar silicon concentration and the amount of sugar (mg) in EFN. This study is the first to show MeJA can interact with leaf silicon concentration to alter EFN response, with the potential for cascading effects on other trophic levels.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179124000884Plant defenseTrade-offMutualismPlant-interactionIndirect defenseInduced defense |
| spellingShingle | Chelsea Megan Gowton Dennis Chiu Isaac John Peetoom Heida Juli Carrillo Positive association between foliar silicon and extrafloral nectar in Vicia faba with application of methyl jasmonate Basic and Applied Ecology Plant defense Trade-off Mutualism Plant-interaction Indirect defense Induced defense |
| title | Positive association between foliar silicon and extrafloral nectar in Vicia faba with application of methyl jasmonate |
| title_full | Positive association between foliar silicon and extrafloral nectar in Vicia faba with application of methyl jasmonate |
| title_fullStr | Positive association between foliar silicon and extrafloral nectar in Vicia faba with application of methyl jasmonate |
| title_full_unstemmed | Positive association between foliar silicon and extrafloral nectar in Vicia faba with application of methyl jasmonate |
| title_short | Positive association between foliar silicon and extrafloral nectar in Vicia faba with application of methyl jasmonate |
| title_sort | positive association between foliar silicon and extrafloral nectar in vicia faba with application of methyl jasmonate |
| topic | Plant defense Trade-off Mutualism Plant-interaction Indirect defense Induced defense |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1439179124000884 |
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