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Plant Chemical Defense Induced by a Seed-Eating Pollinator Mutualist

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Abstract

Plant-seed parasite pollination mutualisms involve a specific pollinator whose larvae develop by consuming a fraction of the host plant seeds. These mutualisms are stable only if the plant can control seed destruction by the larvae. Here, we studied the chemical response of the European globeflower Trollius europaeus to infestation by an increasing number of Chiastocheta fly larvae. We used liquid chromatographic analysis to compare the content of phenolic compounds in unparasitized and parasitized fruits collected in two natural populations of the French Alps, and mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance to elucidate the structure of adonivernith, a C-glycosyl-flavone. This compound is present in many of the organs of T. europaeus, but not found in other Trollius species. Furthermore, it is overproduced in the carpel walls of parasitized fruits, and this induced response to infestation by fly larvae is density-dependent (increases with larval number), and site-dependent (more pronounced in the high-altitude site). Mechanical damage did not induce adonivernith production. This tissue-specific and density-dependent response of T. europaeus to infestation by Chiastocheta larvae might be an efficient regulation mechanism of seed-predator mutualist population growth if it decreases survival or growth of the larvae.

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Acknowledgments

This work was partly supported by the CNRS (GDR 2877). We thank Charlotte Tollenaere for assistance in the field and the UMS 2925 Joseph Fourier Alpine Station for logistics support provided and for giving us access to the exotic Trollius species. We thank C. Bosso from CERMAV for LC/mass analysis and Kim Barrett for correcting our English.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Alpine Ecology (TDE) UMR CNRS 5553, University of Savoie, 73376, Bourget-du-lac, France

    Christiane Gallet

  2. Laboratory of Alpine Ecology (GPB), UMR CNRS 5553, University Joseph Fourier, B.P. 53, 38041, Grenoble CEDEX 9, France

    Sebastien Ibanez, Lucie Zinger & Laurence Despres

  3. Centre de Recherche sur les Macromolécules Végétales (CERMAV-CNRS), B.P. 53, 38041, Grenoble cedex 9, France

    François R. Taravel, Michel Trierweiler & Isabelle Jeacomine

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  1. Christiane Gallet
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Correspondence to Christiane Gallet.

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Gallet, C., Ibanez, S., Zinger, L. et al. Plant Chemical Defense Induced by a Seed-Eating Pollinator Mutualist. J Chem Ecol 33, 2078–2089 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-007-9362-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-007-9362-6

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