Resource allocation shifts in response to herbivory and the consequences for tolerance in Solanum lycopersicum
Korpita, Timothy M.
2012
- Herbivory is a major stress to which plants have adapted a number of strategies designed to mitigate its negative consequences. There is increasing evidence that one of these strategies, tolerance, or the ability to recover from the herbivory event, can be affected by a shift in resource allocation patterns induced by herbivory. Based on the evidence for this induced resource shift, a model was ... read moreproposed that attempts to explain the mechanisms behind it and its adaptive significance. The model predicts that in response to herbivory, resources will be remobilized from attacked tissues to storage in herbivore inaccessible tissues, and these stored resources will be utilized later in regrowth of the lost and damaged tissues, ultimately increasing tolerance. The goal of this thesis was to characterize and quantify this resource allocation shift, confirm experimentally the predicted increase in tolerance and mechanisms behind it, and provide directions for future study. The data presented in chapter 2 demonstrate a resource shift and a subsequent increase in tolerance. The data presented in chapter 3, show that there is not a net removal of resources from herbivore accessible tissues as predicted by the induced sequestration model. Based on these results, and evidence from the literature, we refine and expand the induced sequestration model in chapter 4, as well as suggest avenues for further investigation.read less
- ID:
- r207v191t
- Component ID:
- tufts:UA005.010.073.00001
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