Abstract Detail

Symbioses: Plant, Animal, and Microbe Interactions

Cure, Anne [1], Segraves, Kari [2].

Neopolyploidy increases resilience to herbivore damage, but does not affect tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Whole genome duplication (WGD) or polyploidy, causes immediate morphological and physiological changes in plants that could alter how polyploids defend against insect herbivores. Although plants often use physical and chemical defenses against herbivores, they may also tolerate damage if damaged plants have equal or greater lifetime fitness as compared to undamaged plants. Thus, we wanted to test if WGD affects tolerance and resilience. We used diploid and newly formed polyploid (neopolyploid) Arabidopsis thaliana to test if neopolyploidy alters tolerance or resilience to damage, and if these traits vary across seven geographically dispersed ecotypes. We estimated tolerance as the ratio of lifetime fitness of damaged to undamaged plants, and resilience was the difference between damaged and undamaged plants in total seed mass, total seed count, aboveground biomass, and germination rate. The results showed that neither diploids nor neopolyploids were tolerant to damage; however, there was geographic variation in this response where neopolyploids from one ecotype decreased less than diploids. Additionally, neopolyploids from three ecotypes were more resilient than diploids in terms of total seed mass and seed count, whereas neopolyploids from a fourth ecotype showed the opposite pattern. Furthermore, neopolyploids from one ecotype were more resilient than diploids in terms of aboveground biomass. Damage did not affect germination rates. Together, the results suggest that although WGD does not increase tolerance to herbivory in neopolyploid A. thaliana, it can increase resilience to herbivory.

1 - Syracuse University, Department Of Biology, 107 College Pl, 110 Life Sciences Complex, Syracuse, NY, 13244, United States
2 - Syracuse University, Biology, 107 College Place, Department of Biology, Syracuse, NY, 13244, USA

Keywords:
Whole-genome duplication
herbivory
Arabidopsis thaliana
polyploidy.

Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: SYMB1, Symbioses: Plant, Animal, and Microbe Interactions I
Location: Virtual/Virtual
Date: Tuesday, July 28th, 2020
Time: 1:30 PM
Number: SYMB1005
Abstract ID:458
Candidate for Awards:None