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Plant–rhizobia mutualism influences aphid abundance on soybean

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Abstract

The mutualism between legumes and nitrogen-fixing soil bacteria (rhizobia) is a key feature of many ecological and agricultural systems, yet little is known about how this relationship affects aboveground interactions between plants and herbivores. We investigated the effects of the rhizobia mutualism on the abundance of a specialized legume herbivore on soybean plants. In a field experiment, soybean aphid (Aphis glycines) abundances were measured on plants (Glycine max) that were either (1) treated with a commercial rhizobial inoculant, (2) associating solely with naturally occurring rhizobia, or (3) given nitrogen fertilizer. Plants associating with naturally occurring rhizobia strains exhibited lower aphid population densities compared to those inoculated with a commercial rhizobial preparation or given nitrogen fertilizer. Genetic analyses of rhizobia isolates cultured from field plants revealed that the commercial rhizobia strains were phylogenetically distinct from naturally occurring strains. Plant size, leaf nitrogen concentration, and nodulation density were similar among rhizobia-associated treatments and did not explain the observed differences in aphid abundance. Our results demonstrate that plant–rhizobia interactions influence plant resistance to insect herbivores and that some rhizobia strains confer greater resistance to their mutualist partners than do others.

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Abbreviations

CR:

commercial rhizobia

DAP:

days after planting

F:

fertilized (with N)

N:

nitrogen

NR:

naturally occurring rhizobia

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank S. Geib for sequencing help; S. Smiles and V. Houck for farm assistance; J. Saunders, C. Wagner, and A. Conrad for logistical support, J. Zhu for help with the statistical analyses; P. van Berkum for USDA cultures; J. Tumlinson, J. Tooker, C. Frost, and J. Thaler for helpful comments on the manuscript. This research was supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Beckman Foundation, and the Du Pont young investigator award. J. Dean was supported under a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

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  1. Center for Chemical Ecology, The Pennsylvania State University, 535 ASI Building, University Park, PA, 16802, USA

    Jennifer M. Dean, Mark C. Mescher & Consuelo M. De Moraes

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  1. Jennifer M. Dean
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Correspondence to Consuelo M. De Moraes.

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Responsible Editor: Juha Mikola.

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Dean, J.M., Mescher, M.C. & De Moraes, C.M. Plant–rhizobia mutualism influences aphid abundance on soybean. Plant Soil 323, 187–196 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11104-009-9924-1

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