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: $ 7.5万
• 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: 2022
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2022-01-01 至 2023-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=757999
• 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.

有些植物可以忍受草食和组织损伤而不会降低健身（或产量），但是我们对耐受性状的进化和生态知之甚少，甚至涉及植物补偿能力的机制。此外，我们仍然缺乏对植物防御对草食动物抗性的两个组成部分（避免被食用）和耐受性（持久食用）是否有不同的生态和进化关系与植物生长和繁殖的关系有所不同。尽管事实是，植物种群中耐受性反应的表达和固定可能会带来巨大的生态后果，例如通过降低生物控制剂对侵入性杂草的有效性，或支持农作物中更多样化的昆虫群落。确实，理论表明，食草动物的耐受性可能与植物的耐药性在对昆虫食草动物及其自然敌人的种群动态的影响上有所不同，例如，通过避免在植物抗抗性进化中典型的进化武器种族。对植物耐受性状和影响的更深入了解不仅可以解决围绕植物防御和植物内相互作用的植物防御变化和特异性变化的一些杰出的生态和进化问题，而且还为植物改进和保护计划带来了可行的目标。我提出的研究计划的长期目标是提供一个机械框架和遗传框架，以理解植物性的生态和植物耐受性。为了实现这一目标，我的实验室中的HQP和我将使用现场，温室和实验室实验来：1）确定耐受性的生化和生理机制； 2）探索遗传标记的耐受性特征； 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差异的植物种群中耐受性的演变。特别是，比较跨越植物侵入相互作用的梯度（例如，驯化的作物及其野生亲戚）的人群中的性状将是一种有力的方法，可以理解跨生态和进化时间范围的植物特征和昆虫种群动态之间的关系。在植物育种和作物生产中，植物耐受性对食草动物的遗传和生化机制的融合具有变革性的潜力。尽管昆虫负荷较高，植物耐受性仍可能对植物产量产生很大的影响，并且可能会减慢和破坏害虫耐药性的演变，这突显了这项研究的紧迫性。确实，由于植物的耐受性反应可能与多种压力反应有关，包括对干旱，温度和除草剂的应用，因此该研究计划的产物将适用于除PEST Management以外的其他植物改善。