Herbivorous insects colonising cyanogenic and acyanogenic Trifolium repens

Summary Insect herbivores colonizing cyanogenic and acyanogenic white clover plants were investigated. With the exception of aphids, the herbivores studied were infrequent visitors and failed to discriminate between the two phenotypes. Aphids, however, were two to three times more abundant on acyano...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Heredity 1979-01, Vol.42 (1), p.49-56
Main Authors: Dritschilo, W, Krummel, J, Nafus, D, Pimentel, D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Cytogenetics
Ecology
Evolutionary Biology
field crops
Human Genetics
original-article
Plant Genetics and Genomics
plant health
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Summary:Summary Insect herbivores colonizing cyanogenic and acyanogenic white clover plants were investigated. With the exception of aphids, the herbivores studied were infrequent visitors and failed to discriminate between the two phenotypes. Aphids, however, were two to three times more abundant on acyanogenic than cyanogenic plants. Evidence of visible insect feeding damage was identical for both phenotypes. The evidence suggests that the trait of cyanogenesis confers protection against herbivory by aphids and, possibly, other insects. Such protection would be most important at the seedling stage, but feeding of the insects studied would not lead directly to seedling mortality of either phenotype. Instead, mortality of weakened seedlings may result from other causes later in the season.
ISSN:0018-067X
1365-2540
DOI:10.1038/hdy.1979.5