Ecological and evolutionary constraints of plant tolerance to herbivory

植物对食草动物耐受性的生态和进化限制

• 批准号: RGPIN-2017-04447
• 负责人: Carrillo, Juli
• 金额: $ 2.11万
• 依托单位: University of British Columbia
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2019-01-01 至 2020-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=683073
• 关键词: Ecological; evolutionary; constraints; plant; tolerance

Some plants can tolerate herbivory and tissue damage without reductions in fitness (or yield), yet we know very little about the evolution and ecology of tolerance traits, or even the mechanisms involved in plant compensatory ability. Moreover, we still lack a basic understanding of whether the two components of plant defense against herbivores resistance (avoiding being eaten) and tolerance (enduring being eaten) differ in their ecological and evolutionary relationships to plant growth and reproduction. This is despite the fact that the expression and fixation of tolerance responses within plant populations may have immense ecological consequences, e.g. through decreasing the effectiveness of biocontrol agents for invasive weeds, or supporting a more diverse insect community in crops. Indeed, theory suggests that tolerance of herbivory may fundamentally differ from plant resistance in its effects on the population dynamics of insect herbivores and their natural enemies, e.g by avoiding the evolutionary arms race typical in plant-insect resistance evolution. A greater understanding of plant tolerance traits and impact could not only resolve some of the outstanding ecological and evolutionary questions around variation in plant defense and specificity in plant-insect interactions, but also produce an actionable target for plant improvement and protection programs.******My proposed research program's long-term objective is to provide a mechanistic and genetic framework to understand the ecology and evolution of plant tolerance of herbivory. To achieve this, HQP in my lab and I will use field, greenhouse, and laboratory experiments to: 1) Identify biochemical and physiological mechanisms of tolerance; 2) Explore genetic markers for tolerance traits; 3) Determine ecological impacts of tolerance on key biotic interactions; and 4) Compare the evolution of tolerance in plant populations that have experienced ecological and evolutionary divergence. In particular, the comparison of traits among populations that span a gradient of plant-insect interactions (e.g. domesticated crops and their wild relatives), will be a powerful approach to understand the relationships among plant traits and insect population dynamics across ecological and evolutionary time scales. ******There is transformative potential for incorporating the genetic and biochemical mechanisms of plant tolerance to herbivory in plant breeding and crop production. Plant tolerance could have a large impact on plant yields despite high insect loads, and could slow and disrupt the evolution of pest resistance, which underscores the urgency of this research. Indeed, as tolerance responses in plants are likely related to a multitude of stress responses, including to drought, temperature and herbicide application, the products of this research program will be applicable to other plant improvements beyond pest management. **

有些植物可以耐受食草和组织损伤，而不会降低适应性（或产量），但我们对耐受性状的进化和生态学，甚至对植物补偿能力所涉及的机制知之甚少。此外，对于植物针对食草动物的防御的两个组成部分——抵抗性（避免被吃掉）和耐受性（忍受被吃掉）在与植物生长和繁殖的生态和进化关系上是否存在差异，我们仍然缺乏基本的了解。尽管植物种群内耐受反应的表达和固定可能会产生巨大的生态后果，例如，通过降低生物防治剂对入侵杂草的有效性，或支持作物中更多样化的昆虫群落。事实上，理论表明，草食性耐受性可能与植物抗性在其对昆虫食草动物及其天敌种群动态的影响方面存在根本不同，例如通过避免植物-昆虫抗性进化中典型的进化军备竞赛。更好地了解植物耐受性特征和影响不仅可以解决一些围绕植物防御变异和植物与昆虫相互作用的特异性的突出生态和进化问题，还可以为植物改良和保护计划制定可行的目标。*** ***我提出的研究计划的长期目标是提供一个机制和遗传框架来了解草食动物植物耐受性的生态和进化。为了实现这一目标，我和我实验室的 HQP 将利用田间、温室和实验室实验来： 1) 确定耐受性的生化和生理机制； 2）探索耐受性状的遗传标记； 3）确定耐受性对关键生物相互作用的生态影响； 4) 比较经历了生态和进化分歧的植物种群的耐受性进化。特别是，对跨越植物-昆虫相互作用梯度的种群（例如驯化作物及其野生近缘种）之间的性状进行比较，将是了解生态和进化时间尺度上植物性状与昆虫种群动态之间关系的有力方法。 ******将植物对草食性的耐受性的遗传和生化机制纳入植物育种和作物生产中具有变革潜力。尽管昆虫负荷很高，植物耐受性仍可能对植物产量产生很大影响，并且可能减缓和破坏害虫抗性的进化，这凸显了这项研究的紧迫性。事实上，由于植物的耐受性反应可能与多种应激反应有关，包括干旱、温度和除草剂的使用，因此该研究计划的产品将适用于害虫管理之外的其他植物改良。 **