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Foliar oxidases as mediators of the rapidly induced resistance of mountain birch against Epirrita autumnata

  • Plant Animal Interactions - Original Paper
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Abstract

Induced resistance of the mountain birch against its main defoliator Epirrita autumnata is a well-characterized phenomenon. The causal mechanism for this induced deterioration, however, has not been unequivocally explained, and no individual compound or group of traditional defensive compounds has been shown to explain the phenomenon. Phenolic compounds are the main secondary metabolites in mountain birch leaves, and the biological activity of phenolics usually depends on their oxidation. In this study, we found that the activity of polyphenoloxidases (PPOs), enzymes that oxidize o-diphenols to o-diquinones, was induced in trees with introduced larvae, and bioassays showed that both growth and consumption rates of larvae were reduced in damaged trees. PPO activity was negatively associated with both larval growth and consumption rates in trees with bagged larvae, but not in control trees. Our results suggest that the oxidation of phenolics by PPOs may be a causal explanation for the rapidly induced resistance of mountain birch against E. autumnata. This finding also helps to explain why correlations between insect performance and phenolics (without measuring indices explaining their oxidation) may not produce consistent results.

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Acknowledgements

We wish to express our great gratitude to the Departments of Plant Physiology, Molecular Biology and Animal Physiology, for providing the facilities for our enzymatic measurements. We also want to thank the staff of the Kevo Subarctic Research Station for their help with the study. Finally, we thank our field assistants: Pauliina Wäli, Tanja Kyykkä, Fia Haavisto, Jenny Koivisto and Rauno Varjonen. Ellen Valle kindly checked the English of the manuscript. The study was supported financially by the Academy of Finland (project nos. 29885301, 207294, 206144) and Emil Aaltonen Foundation. Our experiments comply with the current laws of Finland.

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Authors and Affiliations

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

    Teija Ruuhola, Shiyong Yang & Erkki Haukioja

  2. Laboratory of Physical Chemistry, University of Turku, 20014, Turku, Finland

    Vladimir Ossipov

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  1. Teija Ruuhola
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  2. Shiyong Yang
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  3. Vladimir Ossipov
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  4. Erkki Haukioja
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Correspondence to Teija Ruuhola.

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Communicated by Julia Koricheva.

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Ruuhola, T., Yang, S., Ossipov, V. et al. Foliar oxidases as mediators of the rapidly induced resistance of mountain birch against Epirrita autumnata . Oecologia 154, 725–730 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0869-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0869-x

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