Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Instituto de Biologia, Departamento de Botânica, Cidade Universitária, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Museu Nacional, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Botânica), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Naturwissenschaften. 2024 Aug 13;111(5):44. doi: 10.1007/s00114-024-01931-7.
Galls are plant neoformations induced by specialized parasites. Since gall inducers rely on reactive plant sites for gall development, variations in abiotic factors that affect plant phenology are expected to impact the life cycle of gall inducers. To test the hypothesis that different light conditions affect both host plant and gall inducer life cycles, we studied the system Eugenia uniflora (Myrtaceae) - Clinodiplosis profusa (Cecidomyiidae), comparing plants occurring in sunny and shaded environments. We mapped phenological differences among individuals of E. uniflora occurring in the two environments and related them to the influence of luminosity on the life cycle of the gall inducer. Shade plants showed lower intensity of leaf sprouting throughout the year compared to sun-exposed plants, especially during the rainy season. Young and mature galls are synchronized with the peak of leaf sprouting at the beginning of the rainy season, lasting longer in sun-exposed plants - approximately two months longer compared to shade plants. The greater light intensity positively impacts the formation and growth of leaves and galls, with an extended period available for their induction and growth. Thus, light is an important factor for the development of gallers, considering that variations in luminosity influenced not only the phenology of the host plant, but also determined the life cycle of gall inducers. Furthermore, changes in plant-environment interactions are expected to affect the life cycle and richness of other host plant-gall inducer systems.
虫瘿是由专门的寄生虫引起的植物新生结构。由于瘿诱导物依赖于植物的活性部位来发育虫瘿，因此预计影响植物物候的非生物因素变化会对瘿诱导物的生命周期产生影响。为了验证不同光照条件会同时影响宿主植物和瘿诱导物生命周期的假设，我们研究了 Eugenia uniflora（桃金娘科）-Clinodiplosis profusa（瘿蚊科）系统，比较了生长在阳光充足和阴凉环境中的植物。我们绘制了在两种环境中生长的 Eugenia uniflora 个体之间的物候差异图，并将其与对瘿诱导物生命周期的光照影响相关联。与暴露在阳光下的植物相比，全年遮荫植物的叶片萌发强度较低，尤其是在雨季。年轻和成熟的虫瘿与雨季开始时叶片萌发的高峰期同步，在暴露在阳光下的植物中持续时间更长 - 与遮荫植物相比，大约长两个月。较高的光照强度对叶片和虫瘿的形成和生长有积极的影响，为它们的诱导和生长提供了更长的时间。因此，光照是瘿类发育的一个重要因素，因为光照强度的变化不仅影响了宿主植物的物候，还决定了瘿诱导物的生命周期。此外，植物与环境相互作用的变化预计会影响其他宿主植物-瘿诱导物系统的生命周期和丰富度。
