Differential responses in American (Castanea dentata Marshall) and Chinese (C. mollissima Blume) chestnut (Falales: Fagaceae) to foliar application of jasmonic acid

Abstract

Tannins are plant defense compounds that exhibit antibiotic (e.g. toxic) and antixenotic (e.g. repellent) effects against an array of plant pests. They are broadly divided into two major groups, hydrolysable tannins (gallotannins and ellagitannins) and proanthocyanidins, each with an undetermined number of compounds. We investigated constitutive levels of hydrolysable tannins and proanthocyanidins in the leaves and stems of American (Castanea dentata Marshall) (Fagales: Fagaceae) and Chinese (C. mollissima Blume) chestnut. American chestnut contained more proanthocyanidins in leaves and stems than Chinese chestnut, but Chinese chestnut contained more foliar hydrolysable tannins. Regardless of these differences, gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L, Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) performance did not differ when fed American and Chinese chestnuts. We also investigated the effects of jasmonic acid (JA) treatment on differential tannin induction in American and Chinese chestnut leaves and stems. JA treatment increased proanthocyanidins in American chestnut stems and hydrolysable tannins in both tissue types of American chestnut, but did not influence tannin concentrations in Chinese chestnut leaves or stems. HPLC-ESI-MS analysis of pooled samples suggested that hydrolysable tannins in each tissue were qualitatively comprised primarily of ellagitannins, and JA generally increased the number of hydrolysable tannins that could be detected by ESI-MS. Third, we investigated the performance of gypsy moths on JA treated and untreated American and Chinese chestnut. Caterpillar relative growth was not influenced by JA treatment on Chinese chestnut, but decreased in response to JA application on American chestnut. Our results indicate that JA-dependent defenses differ between these chestnut species. This study improves our understanding of ecologically important differences in tannin induction and herbivore susceptibility in Castanea, and has important implications in efforts for American chestnut restoration and commercial chestnut production.

Prohydrojasmon treatment of lima bean plants reduces the performance of two-spotted spider mites and induces volatiles

“…Furthermore, herbivore performance is negatively affected by JA and cis-jasmone treatments (e.g. Farmer & Ryan 1992;Bruce et al 2003;Heijari et al 2005;Cooper & Rieske 2008).…”

Woody Stem Galls Interact With Foliage to Affect Community Associations

“…This concentration did not cause senescence or wilting on chestnut in a previous study (Cooper and Rieske 2008). An equal quantity of acetone without JA was dispersed in water for control treatments.…”

“…Fungal endophyte infections are suppressed by high tannin content on oak (Taper and Case 1987). Lesion formation on chestnut galls may have been reduced by JA induced tannins (Cooper and Rieske 2008), but there was no clear correlation between tannin estimates and lesion formation. However, chestnuts demonstrate species-specific differences in tannin composition (Cooper and Rieske 2008), which may have influenced tannin estimates.…”

“…Jasmonic acid (Sigma-Aldrich, www.sigmaaldrich.com) was dissolved in acetone at a concentration of 1 g/mL and dispersed in water to achieve a 1.5 mM solution (Thaler 1999;Cooper et al 2004;Cooper and Rieske 2008). This concentration did not cause senescence or wilting on chestnut in a previous study (Cooper and Rieske 2008).…”

“…Jasmonate synthesis is triggered by physiological stresses, and can be artificially induced using foliar applications of synthetic jasmonates (reviewed by Creelman and Mullet 1997). A wide range of plant species respond to jasmonate applications with increased defense compounds (Farmer and Ryan 1992;Thaler et al 1996;Lindroth and Kinney 1998;Cooper and Rieske 2008), which have negative consequences on herbivore growth, consumption, and population dynamics Omer et al 2000;Van Dam et al 2000;Thaler et al 2001;Gols et al 2003;Cooper et al 2004;Van Dam et al 2004;Cooper et al 2005;Cooper and Rieske 2008). Jasmonate applications also have antixenotic effects on feeding preferences and oviposition site selection of certain herbivores Bruinsma et al 2007;van Dam 2008) and increase airborne volatiles, which attract natural enemies (Thaler et al 2001;Bruinsma et al 2009) and pollinators (Radhika et al 2010).…”