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Habitat preference of an herbivore shapes the habitat distribution of its host plant.

ABSTRACT: Plant distributions can be limited by habitat-biased herbivory, but the proximate causes of such biases are rarely known. Distinguishing plant-centric from herbivore-centric mechanisms driving differential herbivory between habitats is difficult without experimental manipulation of both plants and herbivores. Here we tested alternative hypotheses driving habitat-biased herbivory in bittercress (Cardamine cordifolia), which is more abundant under shade of shrubs and trees (shade) than in nearby meadows (sun) where herbivory is intense from the specialist fly Scaptomyza nigrita. This system has served as a textbook example of habitat-biased herbivory driving a plant's distribution across an ecotone, but the proximate mechanisms underlying differential herbivory are still unclear. First, we found that higher S. nigrita herbivory in sun habitats contrasts sharply with their preference to attack plants from shade habitats in laboratory choice experiments. Second, S. nigrita strongly preferred leaves in simulated sun over simulated shade habitats, regardless of plant source habitat. Thus, herbivore preference for brighter, warmer habitats overrides their preference for more palatable shade plants. This promotes the sun-biased herbivore pressure that drives the distribution of bittercress into shade habitats.

SUBMITTER: Alexandre NM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6392191 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Habitat preference of an herbivore shapes the habitat distribution of its host plant.

Alexandre Nicolas M NM Humphrey Parris T PT Gloss Andrew D AD Lee Jimmy J Frazier Joseph J Affeldt Henry A HA Whiteman Noah K NK

Ecosphere (Washington, D.C) 20180913 9

Plant distributions can be limited by habitat-biased herbivory, but the proximate causes of such biases are rarely known. Distinguishing plant-centric from herbivore-centric mechanisms driving differential herbivory between habitats is difficult without experimental manipulation of both plants and herbivores. Here we tested alternative hypotheses driving habitat-biased herbivory in bittercress (<i>Cardamine cordifolia</i>), which is more abundant under shade of shrubs and trees (shade) than in n ...[more]

PMID: 30828480

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Project description:BACKGROUND: The discovery and development of novel plant cell wall degrading enzymes is a key step towards more efficient depolymerization of polysaccharides to fermentable sugars for the production of liquid transportation biofuels and other bioproducts. The industrial fungus Trichoderma reesei is known to be highly cellulolytic and is a major industrial microbial source for commercial cellulases, xylanases and other cell wall degrading enzymes. However, enzyme-prospecting research continues to identify opportunities to enhance the activity of T. reesei enzyme preparations by supplementing with enzymatic diversity from other microbes. The goal of this study was to evaluate the enzymatic potential of a broad range of plant pathogenic and non-pathogenic fungi for their ability to degrade plant biomass and isolated polysaccharides. RESULTS: Large-scale screening identified a range of hydrolytic activities among 348 unique isolates representing 156 species of plant pathogenic and non-pathogenic fungi. Hierarchical clustering was used to identify groups of species with similar hydrolytic profiles. Among moderately and highly active species, plant pathogenic species were found to be more active than non-pathogens on six of eight substrates tested, with no significant difference seen on the other two substrates. Among the pathogenic fungi, greater hydrolysis was seen when they were tested on biomass and hemicellulose derived from their host plants (commelinoid monocot or dicot). Although T. reesei has a hydrolytic profile that is highly active on cellulose and pretreated biomass, it was less active than some natural isolates of fungi when tested on xylans and untreated biomass. CONCLUSIONS: Several highly active isolates of plant pathogenic fungi were identified, particularly when tested on xylans and untreated biomass. There were statistically significant preferences for biomass type reflecting the monocot or dicot host preference of the pathogen tested. These highly active fungi are promising targets for identification and characterization of novel cell wall degrading enzymes for industrial applications.

Dataset Information

Habitat preference of an herbivore shapes the habitat distribution of its host plant.

Publications

Habitat preference of an herbivore shapes the habitat distribution of its host plant.

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