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Correlated Induction of Phytohormones and Glucosinolates Shapes Insect Herbivore Resistance of Cardamine Species Along Elevational Gradients

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Abstract

Although the production of phytohormones has been commonly associated with production of plant defence and stress-related traits, few studies have simultaneously investigated this phenomenon across several plant species that grow along large-scale ecological gradients. To address these knowledge gaps, we performed a common garden experiment with six Cardamine species, which collectively encompass an elevational gradient of 2000 m. We quantified constitutive and Pieris brassicae caterpillars-induced phytohormones and chemical defences in leaves. We found a correlated expression of phytohormone production and the subsequent induction of chemical defences, and this correlated expression reduced herbivore performance. Furthermore, we found that abiotic conditions associated with the optimal elevation range of each species influenced the production of phytohormones and chemical defences, as well as plant growth and productivity. In particular, we found that plant species adapted to milder abiotic conditions at low elevations grew faster, were more productive and produced greater levels of chemical defences. In contrast, plant species adapted to harsher abiotic conditions at high elevations tended to produce greater levels of defence-related oxylipins. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of disentangling the role of phytohormones in mediating plant adaptations to shifting biotic and abiotic conditions.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Julia Bilat who helped with plant trait sampling. We thank Nichole Wetter for commenting on earlier versions of the manuscript. This research was financially supported by a Swiss National Science Foundation grant 31003A_159869 to SR. NMvD was supported by the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig funded by the German Research Foundation (FZT 118).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, 3013, Bern, Switzerland

    Christelle A. M. Robert, Marc Pfander & Anouk Guyer

  2. Landscape Ecology, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Loïc Pellissier

  3. Swiss Federal Research Institute WSL, 8903, Birmensdorf, Switzerland

    Loïc Pellissier

  4. Biological Mission of Galicia (MBG-CSIC), Apdo. 28, 36080, Pontevedra, Spain

    Xoaquín Moreira

  5. Laboratory of Functional Ecology, Institute of Biology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Emmanuel Defossez & Sergio Rasmann

  6. German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103, Leipzig, Germany

    Nicole M. van Dam

  7. Institute of Biodiversity, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Dornburger-Str. 159, 07743, Jena, Germany

    Nicole M. van Dam

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  1. Christelle A. M. Robert
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  4. Emmanuel Defossez
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Correspondence to Sergio Rasmann.

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Robert, C.A.M., Pellissier, L., Moreira, X. et al. Correlated Induction of Phytohormones and Glucosinolates Shapes Insect Herbivore Resistance of Cardamine Species Along Elevational Gradients. J Chem Ecol 45, 638–648 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-019-01084-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-019-01084-2

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