Do plants tap SOS signals from their infested neighbours?
J Bruin1, M W Sabelis, M Dicke
1Dept of Pure and Applied Ecology, University of Amsterdam, Kruislaan 320, 1098 SM Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Trends in Ecology & Evolution
|January 18, 2011
Summary
Plants can warn each other about threats using airborne signals. This research explores the ecological and evolutionary benefits of this plant communication, reviving the debate on its significance.
Area of Science:
- Plant Science
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
Background:
- Ecological studies lacked clear evidence for plant-to-plant signal transfer in defense.
- Phytopathologists and plant physiologists have recently shown that undamaged plants can develop resistance upon exposure to plant-derived volatiles.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the ecological and evolutionary significance of interplant communication.
- To understand why plants utilize information about neighbors' infestation status.
- To assess the fitness advantages of plants modulating their defense strategies.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent empirical evidence on plant-to-plant signaling.
- Analysis of the fitness implications of utilizing neighbor's infestation status.
- Discussion of the ecological and evolutionary significance of plant communication.
Main Results:
- Accumulating empirical evidence supports the role of airborne volatiles in eliciting plant defense responses.
- Plants appear to use information about neighbors' infestation status to tune their own defenses.
Conclusions:
- The ecological and evolutionary significance of interplant communication warrants further investigation.
- The debate on the adaptive value of plant communication needs to be revived based on new evidence.
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