Insect Diversity, Community Composition and Damage Index on Wild and Cultivated Murtilla

Abstract

M.Chacón-Fuentes, M. Lizama, L. Parra, I. Seguel, A. Quiroz. 2016. Insect diversity, community composition and damage index on wild and cultivated murtilla. Cien. Inv. Agr. 43(1):57-67. Plant domestication is a process in which plants' chemical defenses that help them cope with herbivores might decline. Consequences of this process could be reflected in an increase in insect pests. Therefore, we carried out a survey to contrast the diversity, damage indexes and insect assemblages between cultivated and wild "Murtilla" (Ugni molinae) plants. The main scientific question put forward in this paper is as follows: Is there a decrease in diversity and an increase in both insect assemblages and damage indexes associated with the domestication process in U. molinae plants? The objective of this report was to compare the structure of a taxonomic assemblage collected in both wild and cultivated plants and their temporal variation over the year. Seven ecotypes and their respective wild populations were selected for these studies. The results showed higher insect assemblages in wild parents (77.35%) vs. cultivated (22.7%). The damage indexes were also higher in wild plants (0.23). The diversity indexes according to Margalef (12.98), the Shannon index (5.15) and the Simpson index (19.04) were higher in wild plants. Moreover, approximately 60 species were determinate. We detected changes in insect assemblages, damage and diversity indexes that could suggest that murtilla domestication has altered insect assemblages.

Native Chilean Fruits and the Effects of their Functional Compounds on Human Health

“…They can be generally characterized by astringency, color, flavor, odor, and oxidative stability [62,63]. In recent years, the phenolic compounds of wild or domesticated Arrayán, Chequén, Maqui, Meli, and Murtilla have been studied, with the results highlighting the high antioxidant activity of their leaves and fruits [8,[14][15][16]48]. The main phenolic compounds in these fruits can be divided into phenolic acids, flavonoids, flavanols, and anthocyanins [63,64] Genotype, environmental factors, and geographical location are among the main causes for the differences in the antioxidant capacity in native Chilean fruits, since in all studies, fruits were collected in different locations.…”

“…These species inhabit the Valdivian Evergreen Forest (Bosque siempreverde Valdiviano) and the Evergreen Patagonian Forest (Bosque siempreverde Patagónico) together with other Chilean forest species that have not been domesticated. Interestingly, Murtilla is the most domesticated among them [10,[12][13][14][15][16].…”

Domestication of Plants of Ugni molinae Turcz (Myrtaceae) Interferes in the Biology of Chilesia rudis (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) Larvae

“…For example, the authors of [ 3 ] reported that breeding in cranberry plants has compromised the defense decreasing the concentration of a quercetin derived, the quercetin-3- α -arabinopyranoside from ≈10 mg/g of dry mass in McFarlin cultivar to ≈3 mg/g of dry mass in their cultivated counterpart “NJS98-23”. In particular, studies have continuously related the domestication process in murtilla plants with a reduction of defensive compounds such as flavonoids and an increase of insect pests [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Moreover, phenolic compounds (PCs) have been reported as one of the main compounds involved in the feeding behavior of insects [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ].…”

“…In particular, studies have continuously related the domestication process in murtilla plants with a reduction of defensive compounds such as flavonoids and an increase of insect pests [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. Moreover, phenolic compounds (PCs) have been reported as one of the main compounds involved in the feeding behavior of insects [ 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 ]. For instance, our previous study reported that the domestication degree, analyzed as a source of variation, significantly affected the PC concentration in leaves of wild and cultivated murtilla [ 17 ].…”

Decrease of flavonol synthase enzymatic activity in Ugni molinae Turcz due to the domestication process

“…During the last 20 years, a highly polymorphic perennial and wild native shrub from Chile, denominated "Murtilla", Ugni molinae (Hoffmann 2005;Valdebenito et al, 2003), has been domesticated and studied by the Institute of Agricultural Research (Instituto de Investigaciones Agropecuarias, INIA), Carillanca, in the Araucanía region of Chile (Chacón-Fuentes et al, 2016). One hundred sites were originally selected in southern Chile for the collection of wild U. molinae plants, and cuttings were grown for the first 10 years under shading and then transplanted to the field.…”