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Changes in the photosynthetic characteristics of cotton leaves infested by invasive mealybugs tended by native ant species

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Abstract

Herbivore injury has a direct effect on the growth and performance of host plants through photosynthetic suppression. However, changes in plant photosynthesis affected by ant tending of hemipteran sap feeders remain poorly understood. We investigated the effects of an invasive mealybug (Phenacoccus solenopsis) tended by native ants (Paratrechina longicornis) on the chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) leaves under greenhouse conditions. The results showed that the relative chlorophyll content of the infested cotton leaves significantly decreased after 10 days, and the chlorophyll contents were reduced by 26.4 and 34.9 % after 20 days in the without and with ant treatments compared to the control, respectively. In addition, the light utilization efficiency and maximum relative electron transport rate were reduced by 53.0 and 51.3 % compared to the control, respectively. However, no significant differences in these factors were found between the without and with ant treatments. The light saturation coefficient, describing the capacity of a sample to resist glare, exhibited no significant difference among treatments. The number of tending P. longicornis ants increased with P. solenopsis numbers, and the P. solenopsis numbers decreased after 20 days compared to the without ant treatment. We suggest that the tending ants may enhance the feeding ability of individual mealybugs in spite of the decreased number of mealybugs in this situation. Additionally, P. longicornis decrease the relative chlorophyll content of infested cotton leaves and may accelerate the damage caused by P. solenopsis to plants over time.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Zheng Shi-Yu and Shan Dan (Animal and Plant Quarantine Department, Plant Protection Institute, Anhui Agricultural University) for helping with the measurements of chlorophyll fluorescence. This work was supported in part by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. LQ14C140004 and LQ16C140004) and the Youth Foundation of Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences (Grant No. 2015CX23).

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    1. Flower Research and Development Centre, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou, 311202, People’s Republic of China

      Jun Huang & Juan Zhang

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    1. Jun Huang
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    Correspondence to Jun Huang.

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    Handling Editor: Heikki Hokkanen.

    Juan Zhang contributed equally with Jun Huang and is a co-first author of this paper.

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    Huang, J., Zhang, J. Changes in the photosynthetic characteristics of cotton leaves infested by invasive mealybugs tended by native ant species. Arthropod-Plant Interactions 10, 161–169 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-016-9418-z

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