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Effects of Indole Glucosinolates on Performance and Sequestration by the Sawfly Athalia rosae and Consequences of Feeding on the Plant Defense System

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Abstract

In this study, the performance and sequestration specificity of the sawfly Athalia rosae L. (Hymenoptera: Tenthredinidae) reared on two wild Brassica oleracea L. (Brassicaceae) populations (KIM and WIN), which express indole glucosinolates (GSs) in very high concentrations, were investigated. The local and systemic plant responses to larval feeding also were analyzed. Indole GSs predominated in KIM plants, whereas aliphatic GSs prevailed in the WIN population, which had several times higher total GS concentrations than KIM plants. Plants of the KIM population had lower specific leaf areas, and higher carbon/nitrogen ratios than WIN plants. The insects reared on WIN plants performed better for most traits than insects reared on the KIM population. The larvae preferentially sequestered aliphatic GSs but when feeding on KIM plants, indole GSs were also concentrated in the hemolymph. In response to feeding by A. rosae larvae, indole GSs were induced locally and systemically, whereas aliphatic GSs were reduced only in systemic leaves of the WIN population. Soluble myrosinase activities were constitutively higher in WIN than in KIM plants, and feeding damage led to a significant reduction of this glucosinolate-degrading enzyme in WIN plants only. The data suggest that the sawfly is well adapted to high concentrations of aliphatic GSs, which are sequestered by the larvae. In contrast, the larvae may be less adapted to plants dominated by indole GSs. Selective induction of indole GSs by the plants in response to larval feeding may be adaptive as accumulation of indole GSs may lower the performance of the larvae.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank J.A. Harvey and R. Gols (Netherland Institute for Ecology, Wageningen, The Netherlands) for providing seeds of wild B. oleracea populations, D. Balten and coworkers for help in plant cultivation, J. Niekamp for help in insect rearing, and R. Sutter for practical help. This work was in part funded by a co-financed scholarship between the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MHESR), Egypt, and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) to M. K. Abdalsamee.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Ecology, Bielefeld University, Universitätsstr. 25, 33615, Bielefeld, Germany

    Mohamed K. Abdalsamee & Caroline Müller

  2. Department of Entomology, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, P.O. Box 12613, Giza, Egypt

    Mohamed K. Abdalsamee

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  1. Mohamed K. Abdalsamee
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  2. Caroline Müller
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Correspondence to Caroline Müller.

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Abdalsamee, M.K., Müller, C. Effects of Indole Glucosinolates on Performance and Sequestration by the Sawfly Athalia rosae and Consequences of Feeding on the Plant Defense System. J Chem Ecol 38, 1366–1375 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-012-0197-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-012-0197-4

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