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Plant diversity and soil legacy independently affect the plant metabolome and induced responses following herbivory
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  • Christian Ristok,
  • Nico Eisenhauer,
  • Alexander Weinhold,
  • Nicole van Dam
Christian Ristok
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Nico Eisenhauer
Universitat Leipzig Fakultat fur Biowissenschaften Pharmazie und Psychologie
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Alexander Weinhold
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
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Nicole van Dam
German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
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Abstract

Plant and soil biodiversity can have significant effects on herbivore resistance mediated by plant metabolites. Here, we disentangled the independent effects of plant diversity and soil legacy on constitutive and herbivore-induced plant metabolomes of three plant species in two complementary microcosm experiments. First, we grew plants in sterile soil with three different plant diversity levels. Second, single plant species were grown on soil with different plant diversity-induced soil legacies. We infested a subset of all plants with Spodoptera exigua larvae, a generalist leaf-chewing herbivore, and assessed foliar and root metabolomes. Neither plant diversity nor soil legacy had significant effects on overall foliar, root, or herbivore-induced metabolome composition. Herbivore-induced metabolomes, however, differed from those of control plants. We also detected 139 significantly regulated metabolites by comparing plants grown in monocultures with conspecifics growing in plant or soil legacy mixtures. Moreover, plant-plant and plant-soil interactions regulated 141 metabolites in herbivore-induced plants. Taken together, plant diversity and soil legacy independently alter the concentration and induction of plant metabolites, thus affecting the plant's defensive capability. This is a first step towards disentangling plant and soil biodiversity effects on herbivore resistance, thereby improving our understanding of the mechanisms that govern ecosystem functioning.
11 Oct 2022Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
12 Oct 2022Submission Checks Completed
12 Oct 2022Assigned to Editor
12 Oct 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
25 Nov 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
30 Nov 2022Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
17 Apr 20231st Revision Received
18 Apr 2023Submission Checks Completed
18 Apr 2023Assigned to Editor
18 Apr 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
21 Apr 2023Reviewer(s) Assigned
24 May 2023Editorial Decision: Revise Minor
30 Aug 20232nd Revision Received
11 Sep 2023Submission Checks Completed
11 Sep 2023Assigned to Editor
11 Sep 2023Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
16 Oct 2023Editorial Decision: Accept