Transgenerational effects of aphid herbivory

This project aims to assess the transgenerational effects of ancestral aphid herbivory within laboratory and natural conditions. Indoors, Spirodela polyrhiza Sp102 was first exposed to aphid herbivory for five generations, followed by five generations under control conditions to allow recovery from stress. The offspring were then challenged under either control conditions or recurrent copper excess.Outdoors, we grew populations of Spirodela polyrhiza Sp102 for two years under aphid herbivory within ponds of 15 m2. Then, we recovered the plants from the ancestral aphid herbivory stress for 21 days, after which we challenge the plants to recurrent control and aphid herbivory conditions. To investigate transgenerational plasticity and its underlying mechanisms in both indoor and outdoor conditions, this project integrates transcriptomic, DNA methylation, and small RNA data.