Specificity of induction responses in Sinapis alba L.: Plant growth and development

Plant defenses are expected to be negatively correlated with plant growth, development and reproduction. In a recent study, we investigated the specificity of induction responses of chemical defenses in the Brassicaceae Sinapis alba.1 It was shown that glucosinolate levels and myrosinase activities increased to different degrees after 24-hours-feeding by a specialist or generalist herbivore or mechanical wounding. Here, we present the specific influences of these treatments on organ biomasses which were recorded as a measure of growth. Directly after the treatments, organ biomasses were reduced locally and systemically by herbivore feeding, but not by mechanical wounding compared to control plants. Induction of glucosinolates, which increased in all treatments, is thus not necessarily expressed as cost in terms of reduced growth in S. alba. No significant long-term differences in plant development between herbivore treated and control plants were found. Thus, tissue loss and increased investments in chemical defenses could be compensated over time, but compensation patterns depended on the inducing agent. Furthermore, herbivore treatments resulted in an increased mechanical defense, measured as abaxial trichome densities. Plants respond highly dynamic with regard to defense and growth allocation and due to different inductors.