Data from: Metabolomic profiling reveals shifts in defenses of an invasive plant
The Shifting Defense Hypothesis predicts that introduced exotic plants evolve increased defenses against generalist herbivores and decreased defenses against specialists that are often absent in the introduced range. This hypothesis has received mixed evidence, and there is limited insight in its chemical basis from targeted analysis. Here, we provide an untargeted metabolomic analysis of native and invasive Purple Loosestrife populations and we experimentally test if admixture between introduced populations provides a basis for rapid defense chemistry evolution. Invasive populations showed improved growth and generalist herbivore resistance, but lower resistance to a specialist weevil. Metabolomic profiling revealed large shifts in chemistry between native and invasive populations, including differences in alkaloids and flavonoids. Experimental admixture increased chemical diversity and plant growth in the native populations, indicating its potential to fuel rapid evolution, but admixture did not affect generalist and specialist herbivory. Our comprehensive untargeted metabolomics results provide strong support for the Shifting Defense Hypothesis.
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Dataset biblioteca |
| Published: |
University of Tübingen
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| Subjects: | Life Science, |
| Online Access: | https://research.wur.nl/en/datasets/data-from-metabolomic-profiling-reveals-shifts-in-defenses-of-an- |
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| Summary: | The Shifting Defense Hypothesis predicts that introduced exotic plants evolve increased defenses against generalist herbivores and decreased defenses against specialists that are often absent in the introduced range. This hypothesis has received mixed evidence, and there is limited insight in its chemical basis from targeted analysis. Here, we provide an untargeted metabolomic analysis of native and invasive Purple Loosestrife populations and we experimentally test if admixture between introduced populations provides a basis for rapid defense chemistry evolution. Invasive populations showed improved growth and generalist herbivore resistance, but lower resistance to a specialist weevil. Metabolomic profiling revealed large shifts in chemistry between native and invasive populations, including differences in alkaloids and flavonoids. Experimental admixture increased chemical diversity and plant growth in the native populations, indicating its potential to fuel rapid evolution, but admixture did not affect generalist and specialist herbivory. Our comprehensive untargeted metabolomics results provide strong support for the Shifting Defense Hypothesis. |
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