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Are endophyte-mediated effects on herbivores conditional on soil nutrients?

  • Plant Animal Interactions
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Abstract

Neotyphodium endophytes are assumed to have mutualistic relationship with their grass hosts, mainly resulting from mycotoxin production increasing plant resistance to herbivores by the fungus that subsists on the plant. To study importance of often ignored environmental effects on these associations, we performed a greenhouse experiment to examine the significance of endophyte infection and nutrient availability for bird-cherry aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi) performance on meadow fescue (Lolium pratense). Naturally endophyte-infected (E+), uninfected (E–), or manipulatively endophyte-free (ME–) half-sib families of meadow fescue were grown on two soil nutrient levels. Endophyte infection reduced aphid performance in general. However, to our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate experimentally that herbivore performance decreases on E+ host plants with increasing availability of nutrients in soils. Potential improvement in herbivore performance in high nutrient soils and decreased plant performance in low nutrient soils in ME– plants, compared to E– and E+ plants, suggests that loss of endophyte infection after long coevolutionary relationship may be critical to plant fitness.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Roosa Leimu and three anonymous referees for valuable comments and Piippa Wäli, Jouni Ahlholm and Marjo Anttila for assistance in the greenhouse. This study was supported by Finnish Academy and Turku University Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Ecology, Department of Biology, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland

    Päivi Lehtonen & Marjo Helander

  2. Plant Production Research, Plant Protection, MTT Agrifood Research Finland, 31600, Jokioinen, Finland

    Kari Saikkonen

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  1. Päivi Lehtonen
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  2. Marjo Helander
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  3. Kari Saikkonen
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Correspondence to Päivi Lehtonen.

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Lehtonen, P., Helander, M. & Saikkonen, K. Are endophyte-mediated effects on herbivores conditional on soil nutrients?. Oecologia 142, 38–45 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1701-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-004-1701-5

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