Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA.
Ecology. 2009 Nov;90(11):2969-73. doi: 10.1890/08-2378.1.
We used narrowleaf cottonwood, Populus angustifolia, and the gall-forming aphid, Pemphigus betae, to determine the extent to which ontogenetic variation in resistance to herbivory is due to endogenous, stable genetic influences. In a three-year common garden trial using ramets propagated from the top, middle, and bottom of mature trees, we found that the resistance of trees to aphids was significantly higher in top vs. bottom source ramets, supporting the hypothesis of a stable, genetically programmed component to aphid resistance. The magnitude of ontogenetically based variation in resistance within an individual tree is comparable to the genetic variation in resistance among narrowleaf cottonwood genotypes or populations found in other studies. These ontogenetic-based findings have the potential to alter ecological interactions and evolutionary trajectories of plant-herbivore interactions.
我们使用了狭叶山杨（Populus angustifolia）和造瘿蚜虫（Pemphigus betae）来确定对草食性的抗性在多大程度上是由于内源性、稳定的遗传影响所致。在一项为期三年的共同花园试验中，我们使用了从成熟树木的顶部、中部和底部繁殖的无性系，发现树木对蚜虫的抗性在顶部无性系与底部无性系之间存在显著差异，这支持了蚜虫抗性具有稳定的、遗传编程组成部分的假设。个体树木内基于发育的抗性变化的幅度与在其他研究中发现的狭叶山杨基因型或种群之间的抗性遗传变异相当。这些基于发育的发现有可能改变植物-食草动物相互作用的生态相互作用和进化轨迹。
