scholarly journals The Multifunctional Roles of Polyphenols in Plant-Herbivore Interactions

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. 1442
Author(s):  
Sukhman Singh ◽  
Ishveen Kaur ◽  
Rupesh Kariyat

There is no argument to the fact that insect herbivores cause significant losses to plant productivity in both natural and agricultural ecosystems. To counter this continuous onslaught, plants have evolved a suite of direct and indirect, constitutive and induced, chemical and physical defenses, and secondary metabolites are a key group that facilitates these defenses. Polyphenols—widely distributed in flowering plants—are the major group of such biologically active secondary metabolites. Recent advances in analytical chemistry and metabolomics have provided an opportunity to dig deep into extraction and quantification of plant-based natural products with insecticidal/insect deterrent activity, a potential sustainable pest management strategy. However, we currently lack an updated review of their multifunctional roles in insect-plant interactions, especially focusing on their insect deterrent or antifeedant properties. This review focuses on the role of polyphenols in plant-insect interactions and plant defenses including their structure, induction, regulation, and their anti-feeding and toxicity effects. Details on mechanisms underlying these interactions and localization of these compounds are discussed in the context of insect-plant interactions, current findings, and potential avenues for future research in this area.

2018 ◽  
Vol 96 (1) ◽  
pp. 35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunice Kariñho-Betancourt

<p><strong>Abstract</strong></p><p><strong>Background: </strong>Throughout disciplines including paleontology and molecular biology, hence using the fossil record or DNA sequences, ancestral and current plant-herbivore associations mediated by secondary compounds have been assessed. The coevolutionary model of “escape and radiation” predicts adaptive patterns at micro- and macro-evolutionary scale, resulted from the plant-herbivore interaction.</p><p><strong>Questions:</strong>  The study of plant-herbivore interaction and secondary metabolites, has been bias for two main reasons: (1) the interdisciplinary study of the interaction has “atomized" the field. (2) The conceptual framework of coevolution favored analysis either within populations or across taxa.</p><p><strong>Methods</strong>:<strong> </strong>I review the evolutionary history of the interaction and secondary metabolites, from paleontological and palebiochemical data. Then, based on empirical evidence of quantitative genetics and comparative methods, I examine the main assumptions of micro- and macro-evolutionary postulates of the coevolutionary model. Further, I overview the analytical approach for the study of plant defense within-species and across phylogeny.<strong> </strong></p><p><strong>Results:  </strong>Within species, (1) the coevolutionary dynamics shaping plants and herbivore phenotypes, and (2) the role of plant chemistry to constraint ecological interactions, are the most stressed patterns. Across phylogeny, (1) the role of plant chemistry to constraint insect host shifts, and (2) the implications of, and mechanism behind the evolutionary novelties, are more recently assessed.</p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>I suggest that future research should integrate both conceptual and analytical perspectives of micro- and macro-evolutionary approaches. One promising direction relies in modern molecular techniques that may open new research avenues by providing evidence for the function of complex genetic and genomic machineries behind biotic interactions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Michał Filipiak ◽  
January Weiner

The energy budget of organisms is a primary factor used to generate hypotheses in ecosystem ecology and evolutionary theory. Therefore, previous studies have focused on the energy costs and benefits of adaptations, the efficiency of energy acquisition and investment, and energy budget limitations. The maintenance of stoichiometric balance is equally important because inconsistency between the chemical composition of the consumer’s tissues and that of its food sources strongly affects the major life-history traits of the consumer and may influence the consumer’s fitness and shape plant–herbivore interactions. In this short review, the framework of ecological stoichiometry is introduced, focusing on plant–insect interactions in terrestrial ecosystems. The use of the trophic stoichiometric ratio (TSR) index is presented as a useful tool for indicating the chemical elements that are scarce in food and have the potential to limit the growth and development of herbivores, thereby influencing plant – herbivorous insect interactions. As an example, the elemental composition and stoichiometry of a pollen consumer (mason bee <em>Osmia bicornis</em>) and its preferred pollen are compared. The growth and development of <em>O. bicornis</em> may be colimited by the scarcity of K, Na, and N in pollen, whereas the development of the cocoon might be colimited by the scarcity of P, Mg, K, Na, Zn, Ca, and N. A literature review of the elemental composition of pollen shows high taxonomical variability in the concentrations of bee-limiting elements. The optimized collection of pollen species based on the elemental composition may represent a strategy used by bees to overcome stoichiometric mismatches, influencing their interactions with plants. It is concluded that the dependence of life-history traits on food stoichiometry should be considered when discussing life history evolution and plant–herbivore interactions. The TSR index may serve as a convenient and powerful tool in studies investigating plant-insect interactions.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wei Huang ◽  
Valentin Gfeller ◽  
Matthias Erb

AbstractVolatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by plant roots can influence the germination and growth of neighboring plants. However, little is known about the effects of root VOCs on plant-herbivore interactions. The spotted knapeed (Centaurea stoebe) constitutively releases high amounts of sesquiterpenes into the rhizosphere. Here, we examine the impact of C. stoebe root VOCs on primary and secondary metabolites of sympatric Taraxacum officinale plants and the resulting plant-mediated effects on a generalist root herbivore, the white grub Melolontha melolontha. We show that exposure of T. officinale to C. stoebe root VOCs does not affect the accumulation of defensive secondary metabolites, but modulates carbohydrate and total protein levels in T. officinale roots. Furthermore, VOC exposure increases M. melolontha growth on T. officinale plants. Exposure of T. officinale to a major C. stoebe root VOC, the sesquiterpene (E)-β-caryophyllene, partially mimics the effect of the full root VOC blend on M. melolontha growth. Thus, releasing root VOCs can modify plant-herbivore interactions of neighboring plants. The release of VOCs to increase the susceptibility of other plants may be a form of plant offense.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 723-729
Author(s):  
Roslyn Gleadow ◽  
Jim Hanan ◽  
Alan Dorin

Food security and the sustainability of native ecosystems depends on plant-insect interactions in countless ways. Recently reported rapid and immense declines in insect numbers due to climate change, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the introduction of agricultural monocultures, and the destruction of insect native habitat, are all potential contributors to this grave situation. Some researchers are working towards a future where natural insect pollinators might be replaced with free-flying robotic bees, an ecologically problematic proposal. We argue instead that creating environments that are friendly to bees and exploring the use of other species for pollination and bio-control, particularly in non-European countries, are more ecologically sound approaches. The computer simulation of insect-plant interactions is a far more measured application of technology that may assist in managing, or averting, ‘Insect Armageddon' from both practical and ethical viewpoints.


Toxins ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annika Jagels ◽  
Viktoria Lindemann ◽  
Sebastian Ulrich ◽  
Christoph Gottschalk ◽  
Benedikt Cramer ◽  
...  

The genus Stachybotrys produces a broad diversity of secondary metabolites, including macrocyclic trichothecenes, atranones, and phenylspirodrimanes. Although the class of the phenylspirodrimanes is the major one and consists of a multitude of metabolites bearing various structural modifications, few investigations have been carried out. Thus, the presented study deals with the quantitative determination of several secondary metabolites produced by distinct Stachybotrys species for comparison of their metabolite profiles. For that purpose, 15 of the primarily produced secondary metabolites were isolated from fungal cultures and structurally characterized in order to be used as analytical standards for the development of an LC-MS/MS multimethod. The developed method was applied to the analysis of micro-scale extracts from 5 different Stachybotrys strains, which were cultured on different media. In that process, spontaneous dialdehyde/lactone isomerization was observed for some of the isolated secondary metabolites, and novel stachybotrychromenes were quantitatively investigated for the first time. The metabolite profiles of Stachybotrys species are considerably influenced by time of growth and substrate availability, as well as the individual biosynthetic potential of the respective species. Regarding the reported adverse effects associated with Stachybotrys growth in building environments, combinatory effects of the investigated secondary metabolites should be addressed and the role of the phenylspirodrimanes re-evaluated in future research.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene A Vos ◽  
Adriaan Verhage ◽  
Lewis G Watt ◽  
Ido Vlaardingerbroek ◽  
Robert C Schuurink ◽  
...  

AbstractJasmonic acid (JA) is an important plant hormone in the regulation of defenses against chewing herbivores and necrotrophic pathogens. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the JA response pathway consists of two antagonistic branches that are regulated by MYC- and ERF-type transcription factors, respectively. The role of abscisic acid (ABA) and ethylene (ET) in the molecular regulation of the MYC/ERF antagonism during plant-insect interactions is still unclear. Here, we show that production of ABA induced in response to leaf-chewing Pieris rapae caterpillars is required for both the activation of the MYC-branch and the suppression of the ERF-branch during herbivory. Exogenous application of ABA suppressed ectopic ERF-mediated PDF1.2 expression in 35S::ORA59 plants. Moreover, the GCC-box promoter motif, which is required for JA/ET-induced activation of the ERF-branch genes ORA59 and PDF1.2, was targeted by ABA. Application of gaseous ET counteracted activation of the MYC-branch and repression of the ERF-branch by P. rapae, but infection with the ET-inducing necrotrophic pathogen Botrytis cinerea did not. Accordingly, P. rapae performed equally well on B. cinerea-infected and control plants, whereas activation of the MYC-branch resulted in reduced caterpillar performance. Together, these data indicate that upon feeding by P. rapae, ABA is essential for activating the MYC-branch and suppressing the ERF-branch of the JA pathway, which maximizes defense against caterpillars.


2017 ◽  
Vol 23 ◽  
pp. 70-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary A Jamieson ◽  
Laura A Burkle ◽  
Jessamyn S Manson ◽  
Justin B Runyon ◽  
Amy M Trowbridge ◽  
...  

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