Plant-plant communication and community of herbivores on tall goldenrod (dataset)

1. The volatiles from damaged plants induce defense in neighboring plants.
The phenomenon is called plant-plant communication, plant talk or plant
eavesdropping. Plant-plant communication has been reported to be stronger
between kin plants than genetically far plants in sagebrush. 2. Why do
plants distinguish volatiles from kin or genetically far plants? We
hypothesize that plants respond only to important conditions; the induced
defense is not free of cost for the plant. To clarify the hypothesis, we
conducted experiments and investigations using goldenrod of 4 different
genotypes. 3. The arthropods community on tall goldenrods were different
among 4 genotypes. The response to volatiles was stronger from genetically
close plants to the emitter than from genetically distant plants from the
emitter. The volatiles from each genotype of goldenrods were different;
and they were categorized accordingly. Moreover, the arthropod community
on each genotype of goldenrods were different. 4. Synthesis: Our results
support the hypothesis: goldenrods respond to volatiles from genetically
close plants because they would have similar arthropod species. These
results are important clues elucidating adaptive significance of
plant-plant communication.

1. 受损植株释放的挥发性物质（volatiles）可诱导邻近植株产生防御反应，该现象被称为植株间通讯（plant-plant communication）、植株对话或植株窃听。已有研究表明，在山艾树（sagebrush）中，亲缘植株间的通讯强度高于遗传亲缘较远的植株。
2. 为何植物能够区分来自亲缘植株与遗传亲缘较远植株的挥发性物质？我们提出如下假说：植物仅会对关键环境条件作出响应，且诱导产生的防御反应对植物本身并非无成本的。为验证该假说，我们以4种不同基因型的一枝黄花（goldenrod）为材料开展了实验与调查研究。
3. 4种基因型的高大一枝黄花上的节肢动物（arthropod）群落存在显著差异；植株对挥发性物质的响应强度，在遗传亲缘接近挥发物释放源的植株中强于遗传亲缘较远的植株。不同基因型一枝黄花释放的挥发性物质存在差异，且可据此进行分类；此外，不同基因型一枝黄花上的节肢动物群落亦各不相同。
4. 综合分析：本研究结果支持前述假说——一枝黄花会对遗传亲缘接近的植株释放的挥发性物质作出响应，这是由于二者的节肢动物物种组成较为相似。上述结果为阐明植株间通讯的适应性意义提供了重要线索。