Whole plant disease severity is associated with reduced polyphenolic concentrations in lesioned but not green tissue in eelgrass

Plants possess an impressive range of chemical traits to defend themselves against pathogens. Describing and interpreting these traits can provide insight into plant resistance to infection and disease progression. To examine one potentially responsive chemical trait, we measured the polyphenolic content of green and lesioned tissue from Labyrinthula-infected seagrass shoots growing in both the field and a long-term common garden. Infection of eelgrass (Zostera marina) with wasting disease (Labyrinthula zosterae) forms necrotic lesions on host tissue and is known to alter host photobiology and secondary metabolite production. It is common to quantify total polyphenolics as a potential measure of eelgrass defense against infection, yet there is no clear evidence that phenolics are a reliable indicator of host response or immunity. We found that polyphenolic concentrations in green tissue were not correlated with whole-plant lesion cover, while polyphenolic concentrations in lesion tissue..., , , # Data from: Whole plant disease severity is associated with reduced polyphenolic concentrations in lesioned but not green tissue in eelgrass

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0cfxpnwc2](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.0cfxpnwc2)

## Description of the data and file structure

**GENERAL INFORMATION**

Title of Dataset: Whole plant disease severity is associated with reduced polyphenolic concentrations in lesioned but not green tissue in eelgrass

Author Information

Name: Naomi Murray
ORCID: 0000-0002-4343-6264
Institution: University of California, Davis
Email: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

Principal Investigator Information

Name: Jay Stachowicz
ORCID: 0000-0003-2735-0564
Institution: University of California, Davis
Email: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

Date of data collection: July 2020

Geographic location of data collection: Bodega Bay, California, USA

Methods for collecting, generating, and processing the data are in the associ..., , **Changes after Jan 28, 2025:**  \
We updated the \"grass_common_garden\" dataset after a reviewer raised concerns about blank versus true missing data in the original dataset, suggesting that we use NA more explicitly. The updated dataset incorporates this suggestion, as well as removing an extraneous identifier column for clarity. The read.me has been updated accordingly. And lastly, we've updated our code to reflect reviewer suggestions and additional analyses from both rounds of revision.