The Efficiency of Plant Defense: Aphid Pest Pressure Does Not Alter Production of Food Rewards by Okra Plants in Ant Presence



Singh, Akanksha, Mayer, Veronika E, Zytynska, Sharon E ORCID: 0000-0002-0174-3303, Hesse, Benjamin and Weisser, Wolfgang W
(2021) The Efficiency of Plant Defense: Aphid Pest Pressure Does Not Alter Production of Food Rewards by Okra Plants in Ant Presence. Frontiers in Plant Science, 12. 627570-.

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Abstract

<jats:p>Pearl bodies are produced by some plant species as food reward for ants and in exchange, ants defend these plants against insect pests. Sap-sucking pests such as aphids also excrete honeydew as food reward for ants, leading to potential conflict where ants could preferentially defend either the plant or the aphid. How pest insects might influence plant pearl body production, is yet to be investigated. Okra is a widely consumed vegetable worldwide and is attacked by the ant-tended cotton aphid. The plants produce pearl bodies, which are predominantly found on the underside of the leaves and formed from epidermal cells. We conducted a set of field and greenhouse experiments to explore plant-aphid-ant interactions, their influence on pearl body production and resulting performance of okra plants, across okra varieties. We found that ants of <jats:italic>Pheidole</jats:italic> genus, which are dominant in okra fields, preferred pearl bodies over aphid honeydew; although, their highest abundance was recorded in presence of both these food rewards, and on one okra variety. Removal of pearl bodies from the plants increased their production; however, plant growth and chlorophyll content were negatively associated with pearl body replenishment. Potentially to mitigate this resource cost, plants developed such a novel defense response because we found that aphid presence reduced pearl body production, but only when there were no ants. Finally, aphids negatively affected plant performance, but only at very high densities. As aphids also attract ants, plants may tolerate their presence at low densities to attract higher ant abundances. Our study highlights that plants can adapt their defense strategies in pest presence for efficient resource use. We suggest that understanding pearl body associated interactions in crop plants can assist in using such traits for pest management.</jats:p>

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: pearl bodies, ant preference, aphid honeydew, plant defense, pests, plant performance
Divisions: Faculty of Health and Life Sciences
Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 08 Apr 2021 09:31
Last Modified: 18 Jan 2023 22:53
DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2021.627570
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpls.2021.627570
Related URLs:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3118695