Defensive Traits in Young Pine Trees Cluster into Two Divergent Syndromes Related to Early Growth Rate

PLoS One. 2016 Mar 30;11(3):e0152537. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0152537. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

The combination of defensive traits leads to the evolution of 'plant defense syndromes' which should provide better protection against herbivores than individual traits on their own. Defense syndromes can be generally driven by plant phylogeny and/or biotic and abiotic factors. However, we lack a solid understanding of (i) the relative importance of shared evolution vs. convergence due to similar ecological conditions and (ii) the role of induced defense strategies in shaping defense syndromes. We investigate the relative roles of evolutionary and ecological factors shaping the deployment of pine defense syndromes including multiple constitutive and induced chemical defense traits. We performed a greenhouse experiment with seedlings of eighteen species of Pinaceae family, and measured plant growth rate, constitutive chemical defenses and their inducibility. Plant growth rate, but not phylogenetic relatedness, determined the deployment of two divergent syndromes. Slow-growing pine species living in harsh environments where tissue replacement is costly allocated more to constitutive defenses (energetically more costly to produce than induced). In contrast, fast-growing species living in resource-rich habitats had greater inducibility of their defenses, consistent with the theory of constitutive-induced defense trade-offs. This study contributes to a better understanding of evolutionary and ecological factors driving the deployment of defense syndromes.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Ecosystem*
  • Models, Genetic*
  • Pinus / genetics*
  • Pinus / growth & development
  • Plant Diseases / genetics*
  • Quantitative Trait, Heritable*

Grants and funding

Funding for this work came from the Spanish National Research Grant (AGL2010-18724). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.