Plant Domestication Alters the Nutritional Content of Guttation Droplets with Multi-Trophic Consequences
Domestication often alters plant traits, leading to cascading effects on ecological interactions, particularly in tri-trophic relationships among plants, herbivores, and their natural enemies. While recent studies have investigated the influence of domestication on plant-derived food sources, its...
| Autores principales: | , , , , |
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| Formato: | article |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés |
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Springer
2025
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| Materias: | |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/9078 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10886-025-01602-5 |
| _version_ | 1855032907761975296 |
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| author | Urbaneja-Bernat, Pablo Salazar Mendoza, Paolo Tena, Alejandro Gonzalez Cabrera, Joel rodriguez Saona, Cesar |
| author_browse | Gonzalez Cabrera, Joel Salazar Mendoza, Paolo Tena, Alejandro Urbaneja-Bernat, Pablo rodriguez Saona, Cesar |
| author_facet | Urbaneja-Bernat, Pablo Salazar Mendoza, Paolo Tena, Alejandro Gonzalez Cabrera, Joel rodriguez Saona, Cesar |
| author_sort | Urbaneja-Bernat, Pablo |
| collection | ReDivia |
| description | Domestication often alters plant traits, leading to cascading effects on ecological interactions, particularly in tri-trophic
relationships among plants, herbivores, and their natural enemies. While recent studies have investigated the influence of
domestication on plant-derived food sources, its effect on guttation—a nutrient-rich exudate produced by many plants—
remains unexplored. In this study, we examined the effects of guttation droplets from wild and cultivated highbush
blueberries on the fitness (longevity and fecundity) and feeding preferences of three insect species from different trophic
guilds: an herbivore (Drosophila suzukii), a parasitoid (Trichopria drosophilae), and a predator (Chrysoperla carnea).
Additionally, we analyzed and compared the size and nutritional composition—specifically, total sugar and protein content—
of guttation droplets between wild and cultivated blueberry plants. Our results indicated that guttation from wild
plants enhanced the longevity of all three insect species, often surpassing that of cultivated plants and diets containing
only sugar or sugar plus protein. In choice assays, all three insect species consistently preferred guttation from wild plants
over that from cultivated ones. Although the guttation droplets from cultivated plants were larger, those from wild plants
contained higher concentrations of sugars (six times more) and proteins (five times more), which likely contributed to the
insects’ enhanced fitness and preference for wild plant guttation. These findings indicate that domestication has reduced
the ecological functionality of guttation in blueberries by potentially influencing tri-trophic interactions. Understanding
how domestication affects plant-derived food sources like guttation could have important implications for the conservation
of natural enemies in agricultural landscapes. |
| format | article |
| id | ReDivia9078 |
| institution | Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) |
| language | Inglés |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Springer |
| publisherStr | Springer |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ReDivia90782025-07-11T11:58:03Z Plant Domestication Alters the Nutritional Content of Guttation Droplets with Multi-Trophic Consequences Urbaneja-Bernat, Pablo Salazar Mendoza, Paolo Tena, Alejandro Gonzalez Cabrera, Joel rodriguez Saona, Cesar Drosophila suzukii Trichopria drosophilae H10 Pests of plants Highbush blueberries Chrysoperla carnea Nutrients Domestication often alters plant traits, leading to cascading effects on ecological interactions, particularly in tri-trophic relationships among plants, herbivores, and their natural enemies. While recent studies have investigated the influence of domestication on plant-derived food sources, its effect on guttation—a nutrient-rich exudate produced by many plants— remains unexplored. In this study, we examined the effects of guttation droplets from wild and cultivated highbush blueberries on the fitness (longevity and fecundity) and feeding preferences of three insect species from different trophic guilds: an herbivore (Drosophila suzukii), a parasitoid (Trichopria drosophilae), and a predator (Chrysoperla carnea). Additionally, we analyzed and compared the size and nutritional composition—specifically, total sugar and protein content— of guttation droplets between wild and cultivated blueberry plants. Our results indicated that guttation from wild plants enhanced the longevity of all three insect species, often surpassing that of cultivated plants and diets containing only sugar or sugar plus protein. In choice assays, all three insect species consistently preferred guttation from wild plants over that from cultivated ones. Although the guttation droplets from cultivated plants were larger, those from wild plants contained higher concentrations of sugars (six times more) and proteins (five times more), which likely contributed to the insects’ enhanced fitness and preference for wild plant guttation. These findings indicate that domestication has reduced the ecological functionality of guttation in blueberries by potentially influencing tri-trophic interactions. Understanding how domestication affects plant-derived food sources like guttation could have important implications for the conservation of natural enemies in agricultural landscapes. 2025-07-11T11:57:37Z 2025-07-11T11:57:37Z 2025 article publishedVersion Urbaneja-Bernat, P., Salazar-Mendoza, P., Tena, A., González-Cabrera, J., & Rodriguez-Saona, C. (2025). Plant Domestication Alters the Nutritional Content of Guttation Droplets with Multi-Trophic Consequences. Journal of Chemical Ecology, 51(3), 51. 025-01602 https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/9078 10.1007/s10886-025-01602-5 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10886-025-01602-5 en We thank Robert Holdcraft for technical assistance with plant propagation, and Juan Antonio Ávalos for providing the natural enemies used in this study. We also appreciate the helpful comments from a reviewer on an earlier draft of the manuscript. PU-B was funded by the CERCA Programme / Generalitat de Catalunya. Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ openAccess Springer electronico |
| spellingShingle | Drosophila suzukii Trichopria drosophilae H10 Pests of plants Highbush blueberries Chrysoperla carnea Nutrients Urbaneja-Bernat, Pablo Salazar Mendoza, Paolo Tena, Alejandro Gonzalez Cabrera, Joel rodriguez Saona, Cesar Plant Domestication Alters the Nutritional Content of Guttation Droplets with Multi-Trophic Consequences |
| title | Plant Domestication Alters the Nutritional Content of Guttation Droplets with Multi-Trophic Consequences |
| title_full | Plant Domestication Alters the Nutritional Content of Guttation Droplets with Multi-Trophic Consequences |
| title_fullStr | Plant Domestication Alters the Nutritional Content of Guttation Droplets with Multi-Trophic Consequences |
| title_full_unstemmed | Plant Domestication Alters the Nutritional Content of Guttation Droplets with Multi-Trophic Consequences |
| title_short | Plant Domestication Alters the Nutritional Content of Guttation Droplets with Multi-Trophic Consequences |
| title_sort | plant domestication alters the nutritional content of guttation droplets with multi trophic consequences |
| topic | Drosophila suzukii Trichopria drosophilae H10 Pests of plants Highbush blueberries Chrysoperla carnea Nutrients |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11939/9078 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10886-025-01602-5 |
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