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The role of selenium in protecting plants against prairie dog herbivory: implications for the evolution of selenium hyperaccumulation

  • Plant-Animal Interactions - Original Paper
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Abstract

Some plants can hyperaccumulate the element selenium (Se) up to 10,000 mg Se kg−1 dry weight. Hyperaccumulation has been hypothesized to defend against herbivory. In laboratory studies high Se levels protect plants from invertebrate herbivores and pathogens. However, field studies and mammalian herbivore studies that link Se accumulation to herbivory protection are lacking. In this study a combination of field surveys and manipulative field studies were carried out to determine whether plant Se accumulation in the field deters herbivory by black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus). The Se hyperaccumulator Astragalus bisulcatus (two-grooved milkvetch) occurs naturally on seleniferous soils in the Western USA, often on prairie dog colonies. Field surveys have shown that this Se hyperaccumulator is relatively abundant on some prairie dog colonies and suffers less herbivory than other forb species. This protection was likely owing to Se accumulation, as judged from subsequent manipulative field experiments. When given a choice between pairs of plants of the Se hyperaccumulator Stanleya pinnata (prince’s plume) that were pretreated with or without Se, prairie dogs preferred to feed on the plants with low Se; the same results were obtained for the non-hyperaccumulator Brassica juncea (Indian mustard). Plants containing as little as 38 mg Se kg−1 DW were protected from herbivory. Taken together these results shed light on the functional significance of Se hyperaccumulation and the possible selection pressures driving its evolution. They also have implications for the use of plants in Se phytoremediation, or as Se-fortified crops.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Jim Detling and Andrew Norton for helpful suggestions and discussion. We also would like to thank Jennifer Ackerman for help with plant identification. We thank Todd Wellnitz for help with the 24-h B. juncea experiment, and Lindsay Bennett for help with field surveys and plant Se analyses. We gratefully acknowledge the City of Fort Collins who gave us permission to do our experiments on the two natural areas. We also want to thank the reviewers of this paper who added their insight into interpreting the results of this paper. Funding for these studies was provided by NSF grant no. IOB-0444471 to EPS. The experiments comply with the current laws of the country in which they were performed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Biology Department, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, 80523, USA

    Colin F. Quinn, John L. Freeman, Miriam L. Galeas, Erin M. Klamper & Elizabeth A. H. Pilon-Smits

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  1. Colin F. Quinn
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  2. John L. Freeman
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  3. Miriam L. Galeas
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  4. Erin M. Klamper
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  5. Elizabeth A. H. Pilon-Smits
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Correspondence to Elizabeth A. H. Pilon-Smits.

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Communicated by Phyllis Coley.

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Quinn, C.F., Freeman, J.L., Galeas, M.L. et al. The role of selenium in protecting plants against prairie dog herbivory: implications for the evolution of selenium hyperaccumulation. Oecologia 155, 267–275 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0907-8

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