De-la-Cruz Ivan M, Batsleer Femke, Bonte Dries, Diller Carolina, Hytönen Timo, Muola Anne, Osorio Sonia, Posé David, Vandegehuchte Martijn L, Stenberg Johan A
Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Alnarp, Sweden.
Terrestrial Ecology Unit, Department of Biology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Front Plant Sci. 2022 Apr 25;13:808427. doi: 10.3389/fpls.2022.808427. eCollection 2022.
Aboveground plant-arthropod interactions are typically complex, involving herbivores, predators, pollinators, and various other guilds that can strongly affect plant fitness, directly or indirectly, and individually, synergistically, or antagonistically. However, little is known about how ongoing natural selection by these interacting guilds shapes the evolution of plants, i.e., how they affect the differential survival and reproduction of genotypes due to differences in phenotypes in an environment. Recent technological advances, including next-generation sequencing, metabolomics, and gene-editing technologies along with traditional experimental approaches (e.g., quantitative genetics experiments), have enabled far more comprehensive exploration of the genes and traits involved in complex ecological interactions. Connecting different levels of biological organization (genes to communities) will enhance the understanding of evolutionary interactions in complex communities, but this requires a multidisciplinary approach. Here, we review traditional and modern methods and concepts, then highlight future avenues for studying the evolution of plant-arthropod interactions (e.g., plant-herbivore-pollinator interactions). Besides promoting a fundamental understanding of plant-associated arthropod communities' genetic background and evolution, such knowledge can also help address many current global environmental challenges.
地上植物与节肢动物之间的相互作用通常很复杂，涉及食草动物、捕食者、传粉者以及其他各类群体，它们能够直接或间接地、单独地、协同地或对抗性地强烈影响植物的适合度。然而，对于这些相互作用的群体所进行的自然选择如何塑造植物的进化，即它们如何在一个环境中因表型差异而影响基因型的差异存活和繁殖，我们却知之甚少。包括下一代测序、代谢组学和基因编辑技术在内的近期技术进步，连同传统实验方法（如数量遗传学实验），使得对参与复杂生态相互作用的基因和性状能够进行更为全面的探索。将生物组织的不同层次（从基因到群落）联系起来，将增进对复杂群落中进化相互作用的理解，但这需要一种多学科方法。在这里，我们回顾传统和现代的方法与概念，然后着重介绍研究植物与节肢动物相互作用（如植物 - 食草动物 - 传粉者相互作用）进化的未来途径。除了促进对与植物相关的节肢动物群落的遗传背景和进化的基本理解之外，这类知识还能够帮助应对当前许多全球性环境挑战。
