Protection offered by leaf fungal endophytes to an invasive species against native herbivores depends on soil nutrients

1. Natural grassland ecosystems are increasingly threatened by excessive loadings of nutrients and by the presence of species bred for high productivity. By manipulating grazing regimes and nutrient availability, agricultural practices facilitate the establishment and spread of certain forage plant...

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Main Authors: Graff, Barbara Pamela, Gundel, Pedro Emilio, Salvat, Adriana Elisabeth, Cristos, Diego Sebastian, Chaneton, Enrique J.
Format: Artículo
Language:Inglés
Published: Wiley 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/7268
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2745.13371
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13371
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author Graff, Barbara Pamela
Gundel, Pedro Emilio
Salvat, Adriana Elisabeth
Cristos, Diego Sebastian
Chaneton, Enrique J.
author_browse Chaneton, Enrique J.
Cristos, Diego Sebastian
Graff, Barbara Pamela
Gundel, Pedro Emilio
Salvat, Adriana Elisabeth
author_facet Graff, Barbara Pamela
Gundel, Pedro Emilio
Salvat, Adriana Elisabeth
Cristos, Diego Sebastian
Chaneton, Enrique J.
author_sort Graff, Barbara Pamela
collection INTA Digital
description 1. Natural grassland ecosystems are increasingly threatened by excessive loadings of nutrients and by the presence of species bred for high productivity. By manipulating grazing regimes and nutrient availability, agricultural practices facilitate the establishment and spread of certain forage plant species outside managed landscapes, challenging local biodiversity. The ecological success of some species in the invaded range sometimes seems to be associated with the symbiosis with foliar fungal endophytes. Symbiotic fungi may increase the competitiveness of host species, but also the resistance to herbivory through the production of toxic secondary compounds such as alkaloids. While progress has been made in understanding how soil nutrients modulate other benefits offered by fungal endophytes to plants (e.g. stress tolerance, competitive ability, etc), the consequences for a higher trophic level (i.e. herbivores) and the potential feedbacks on plant invasion have not been explored yet. 2. We explored the relative and interactive importance of soil nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in modulating the interaction of the invasive grass tall fescue—associated with fungal endophytes—and native herbivores in a natural grassland. We hypothesized that N and P nutrients modulate differentially leaf quality traits, namely nutritional value and fungal alkaloid contents, determining the level of damage by native insect herbivores on the exotic tall fescue. 3. We found that only the addition of P significantly increased native caterpillar density in the field, which corresponded to a concomitant increase in leaf damage. In contrast to expectations, the concentration of the alkaloid ergovaline in leaves was not strongly related to N. It was the level of soil P which dictated the concentration of the element (P) in the leaves and reduced the level of defence against herbivores in this endophyte-symbiotic species. Then, herbivore performance increased, and plants were more prone to be attacked. 4. Synthesis. Our study indicates a strong control of soil P fertility on the triple interaction among plants, fungal endophytes and native herbivores. This highlights the potential role of increased soil nutrients on the invasion spread of endophytesymbiotic forage plants in natural grasslands.
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language Inglés
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spelling INTA72682025-08-19T12:54:04Z Protection offered by leaf fungal endophytes to an invasive species against native herbivores depends on soil nutrients Graff, Barbara Pamela Gundel, Pedro Emilio Salvat, Adriana Elisabeth Cristos, Diego Sebastian Chaneton, Enrique J. Caterpillars Nitrogen Phosphorus Oruga (larva) Nitrógeno Fósforo Festuca arundinacea Ergovaline Plant–herbivore interaction Ergovalina Paracles vulpina Polilla Paracles vulpina Invasión de plantas Planta -herbívoro Interacción Festuca Alta 1. Natural grassland ecosystems are increasingly threatened by excessive loadings of nutrients and by the presence of species bred for high productivity. By manipulating grazing regimes and nutrient availability, agricultural practices facilitate the establishment and spread of certain forage plant species outside managed landscapes, challenging local biodiversity. The ecological success of some species in the invaded range sometimes seems to be associated with the symbiosis with foliar fungal endophytes. Symbiotic fungi may increase the competitiveness of host species, but also the resistance to herbivory through the production of toxic secondary compounds such as alkaloids. While progress has been made in understanding how soil nutrients modulate other benefits offered by fungal endophytes to plants (e.g. stress tolerance, competitive ability, etc), the consequences for a higher trophic level (i.e. herbivores) and the potential feedbacks on plant invasion have not been explored yet. 2. We explored the relative and interactive importance of soil nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in modulating the interaction of the invasive grass tall fescue—associated with fungal endophytes—and native herbivores in a natural grassland. We hypothesized that N and P nutrients modulate differentially leaf quality traits, namely nutritional value and fungal alkaloid contents, determining the level of damage by native insect herbivores on the exotic tall fescue. 3. We found that only the addition of P significantly increased native caterpillar density in the field, which corresponded to a concomitant increase in leaf damage. In contrast to expectations, the concentration of the alkaloid ergovaline in leaves was not strongly related to N. It was the level of soil P which dictated the concentration of the element (P) in the leaves and reduced the level of defence against herbivores in this endophyte-symbiotic species. Then, herbivore performance increased, and plants were more prone to be attacked. 4. Synthesis. Our study indicates a strong control of soil P fertility on the triple interaction among plants, fungal endophytes and native herbivores. This highlights the potential role of increased soil nutrients on the invasion spread of endophytesymbiotic forage plants in natural grasslands. Fil: Graff, Pamela. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía, Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fil: Gundel, Pedro E. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía, Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Fil: Salvat, Adriana Elisabeth. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto de Patobiología. Laboratorio de Toxicología. Área de Patología; Argentina. Fil: Cristos, Diego Sebastian. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria (INTA). Instituto Tecnología de Alimentos; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires (UBA). Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Departamento de Química Biológica. Instituto de Química Biológica; Argentina. Fil: Chaneton, Enrique J. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía, Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambiente. Instituto de Investigaciones Fisiológicas y Ecológicas Vinculadas a la Agricultura (IFEVA); Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. 2020-05-18T19:25:28Z 2020-05-18T19:25:28Z 2020-02-04 info:ar-repo/semantics/artículo info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/7268 https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2745.13371 1365-2745 https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13371 eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess application/pdf Wiley Journal of Ecology 00: 1–13 (2020)
spellingShingle Caterpillars
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Oruga (larva)
Nitrógeno
Fósforo
Festuca arundinacea
Ergovaline
Plant–herbivore interaction
Ergovalina
Paracles vulpina
Polilla Paracles vulpina
Invasión de plantas
Planta -herbívoro Interacción
Festuca Alta
Graff, Barbara Pamela
Gundel, Pedro Emilio
Salvat, Adriana Elisabeth
Cristos, Diego Sebastian
Chaneton, Enrique J.
Protection offered by leaf fungal endophytes to an invasive species against native herbivores depends on soil nutrients
title Protection offered by leaf fungal endophytes to an invasive species against native herbivores depends on soil nutrients
title_full Protection offered by leaf fungal endophytes to an invasive species against native herbivores depends on soil nutrients
title_fullStr Protection offered by leaf fungal endophytes to an invasive species against native herbivores depends on soil nutrients
title_full_unstemmed Protection offered by leaf fungal endophytes to an invasive species against native herbivores depends on soil nutrients
title_short Protection offered by leaf fungal endophytes to an invasive species against native herbivores depends on soil nutrients
title_sort protection offered by leaf fungal endophytes to an invasive species against native herbivores depends on soil nutrients
topic Caterpillars
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Oruga (larva)
Nitrógeno
Fósforo
Festuca arundinacea
Ergovaline
Plant–herbivore interaction
Ergovalina
Paracles vulpina
Polilla Paracles vulpina
Invasión de plantas
Planta -herbívoro Interacción
Festuca Alta
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12123/7268
https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/1365-2745.13371
https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2745.13371
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