Neighbors affect resistance to herbivory--a new mechanism

Plants present a rich source of nutrients for many organisms, making it a target for herbivores and infectious agents. Plants, though lacking a proper immune system, have developed an array of constitutive and inducible defenses to fend off these attacks.

Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.Although predation is commonly associated with carnivory, for...

Microbe-plant interactions represent a dynamic spectrum of associations shaped by intricate chemical signaling. These interactions can be neutral, beneficial, or detrimental, and profoundly influence plant physiology, growth, and ecosystem function. The plant microbiome, comprising bacteria, fungi, archaea, protists, and viruses, plays a pivotal role in mediating these effects through surface colonization, internal colonization, or systemic symbiosis.Mutualistic associations, particularly with...

Though evaporation from plant leaves drives transpiration, it also results in loss of water. Because water is critical for photosynthetic reactions and other cellular processes, evolutionary pressures on plants in different environments have driven the acquisition of adaptations that reduce water loss.

Gravitropism: Plant Responses to Gravity

Microbial cooperation involves beneficial interactions in which different species work together for individual or mutual advantage. These interactions can profoundly influence ecological dynamics and evolutionary processes, and they are essential to many pathogenic and symbiotic relationships.Nematode–Bacteria CooperationA striking example is the relationship between the Gram-negative bacterium Xenorhabdus nematophila and the parasitic nematode Steinernema carpocapsae. Juvenile nematodes...