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Species-Specific Response of Glucosinolate Content to Elevated Atmospheric CO2

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Abstract

The carbon/nutrient balance hypothesis has recently been interpreted to predict that plants grown under elevated CO2 environments will allocate excess carbon to defense, resulting in an increase in carbon-based secondary compounds. A related prediction is that, because plant growth will be increasingly nitrogen-limited under elevated CO2 environments, plants will allocate less nitrogen to defense, resulting in decreased levels of nitrogen-containing secondary compounds. We present the first evidence of decreased investment in nitrogen-containing secondary compounds for a plant grown under elevated CO2. We also present evidence that plant response is species-specific and is not correlated with changes in leaf nitrogen content or leaf carbon–nitrogen ratio. When three crucifers were grown at 724 ± 8 ppm CO2, total foliar glucosinolate content decreased significantly for mustard, but not for radish or turnip. Glucosinolate content of the second and fourth youngest mustard leaves decreased by 45% and 31%, respectively. In contrast, no significant change in total glucosinolate content was observed in turnip or radish leaves, despite significant decreases in leaf nitrogen content. Total glucosinolate content differed significantly among leaves of different age; however, the trend differed among species. For both mustard and turnip, glucosinolate content was significantly higher in older leaves, while the opposite was true for radish. No significant CO2 × leaf age interaction was observed, suggesting that intraplant patterns of allocation to defense will not change for these species. Changes in nitrogen allocation strategy are likely to be species-specific as plants experience increasing atmospheric CO2 levels. The ecological consequences of CO2-induced changes in plant defensive investment remain to be investigated.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biological Sciences, McCracken Hall, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan, 49008

    David N. Karowe

  2. Division of Natural Sciences, Pepperdine University, Malibu, California, 90263

    David H. Seimens

  3. Division of Biological Sciences, University of Montana, Missoula, Montana, 59812

    Thomas Mitchell-Olds

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Karowe, D.N., Seimens, D.H. & Mitchell-Olds, T. Species-Specific Response of Glucosinolate Content to Elevated Atmospheric CO2 . J Chem Ecol 23, 2569–2582 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOEC.0000006667.81616.18

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