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Within-Plant Variation In Glucosinolate Concentrations of Raphanus sativus Across Multiple Scales

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Abstract

Variation in chemical defenses remains underexplored. In particular, little is known about patterns of variation at small scales within leaves and spatial variation of induction. I examined variation in glucosinolate concentrations in the leaves of Raphanus sativus at several different spatial scales in two related experiments. I used samples equivalent in area to the amount an intermediate-sized caterpillar might eat in 1 d, a smaller scale than used in most previous studies. I examined variation due to induction and leaf age and small-scale spatial variation within leaves. The mean and variance of glucosinolate concentrations were higher in induced plants, young leaves, and the proximal half of leaves. Higher glucosinolate concentrations in the proximal half of leaves are previously unreported. Small-scale variation was extreme, accounting for 57% of the total random variation, and spatially random. There was no spatial autocorrelation found at scales as small as 1–2 cm. The high degree of small-scale, spatially random variation in glucosinolate concentrations in leaves is previously unreported. This small-scale variation and the variation caused by induction may have significant effects on herbivores and could be an important component of plant defense.

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Acknowledgments

This manuscript was greatly improved by comments from Anurag Agrawal, Suzanne Alonzo, Carol Boggs, Laurel Fox, Tom Miller, Paul Richards, Nick Wolf, and two anonymous reviewers. I thank Greg Gilbert, Jim Velzy, Linda Locatelli, Feinming Chen, Brian Fulfrost, and the UCSC GIS laboratory for resources and technical help. Emily Agin, Rachel Baker-de Kater, Tanya Baxter, Elaine Chow, Jennifer Douglas, John Fejes, Daphne Gehringer, Beth Howard, and Jessica Tuttle provided laboratory assistance. This work would not have been completed without the advice and encouragement of Marc Mangel. Funding was provided by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, USDA Grant 443080-22463, a UCSC Academic Senate Grant to M. Mangel, and the School of Computational Science and Information Technology at Florida State University.

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  1. Department of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA, 95064, USA

    Angela L. Shelton

  2. School of Computational Science and Information Technology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, 32306-4120, USA

    Angela L. Shelton

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Shelton, A.L. Within-Plant Variation In Glucosinolate Concentrations of Raphanus sativus Across Multiple Scales. J Chem Ecol 31, 1711–1732 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-005-5922-9

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