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Genotype and environment determine allocation to and costs of resistance in quaking aspen

  • Plant Animal Interactions
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Abstract

Although genetic variability and resource availability both influence plant chemical composition, little is known about how these factors interact to modulate costs of resistance, expressed as negative correlations between growth and defense. We evaluated genotype × environment effects on foliar chemistry and growth of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) by growing multiple aspen genotypes under variable conditions of light and soil nutrient availability in a common garden. Foliage was analyzed for levels of nitrogen, phenolic glycosides and condensed tannins. Bioassays of leaf quality were conducted with fourth-stadium gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) larvae. Results revealed strong effects of plant genotype, light availability and nutrient availability; the importance of each factor depended upon compound type. For example, tannin concentrations differed little among genotypes and across nutrient regimes under low light conditions, but markedly so under high light conditions. Phenolic glycoside concentrations, in contrast, were largely determined by genotype. Variation in phenolic glycoside concentrations among genotypes was the most important factor affecting gypsy moth performance. Gypsy moth biomass and development time were negatively and positively correlated, respectively, with phenolic glycoside levels. Allocation to phenolic glycosides appeared to be costly in terms of growth, but only under resource-limiting conditions. Context-dependent trade-offs help to explain why costs of allocation to resistance are often difficult to demonstrate.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by USDA NRICG grant 95-37302-1810, NSF grant DEB-0074427, and UW Hatch Project no. 3931 to R.L.L. We thank Zach Gillen, Michelle Arnold, Pat Koss, Evan McDonald, Jep Agrell and Shaw-Yhi Hwang for assistance. Lynn Hummel and Laura Van Slyke provided invaluable assistance at the Walnut Street greenhouses, and Tom Sharkey graciously provided the photosynthesis measurements. Thanks to Art Zangerl for advice on genetic correlations; Ken Raffa, Eric Kruger and Jen Klug for thoughtful comments on the manuscript; Rick Nordheim for extensive statistical advice; and Gary Bernon for providing gypsy moth eggs.

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  1. Tod L. Osier

    Present address: Biology Department, Fairfield University, North Benson Road, Fairfield, CT, 06824, USA

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  1. Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin–Madison, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    Tod L. Osier & Richard L. Lindroth

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Correspondence to Tod L. Osier.

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Communicated by Frederick C. Meinzer

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Osier, T.L., Lindroth, R.L. Genotype and environment determine allocation to and costs of resistance in quaking aspen. Oecologia 148, 293–303 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-006-0373-8

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