A keystone gene underlies the persistence of an experimental food web

Genes encode information that determines an organism's fitness. Yet we know little about whether genes of one species influence the persistence of interacting species in an ecological community. Here, we experimentally tested the effect of three plant defense genes on the persistence of an inse...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2022-04, Vol.376 (6588), p.70-73
Main Authors: Barbour, Matthew A, Kliebenstein, Daniel J, Bascompte, Jordi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alleles
Animals
Arabidopsis - genetics
Arabidopsis - growth & development
Arabidopsis Proteins - genetics
Coexistence
Evolution, Molecular
Food Chain
Food chains
Food webs
Gene Frequency
Genes
Genes, Plant
Genotypes
Herbivores
Herbivory
Insecta
Keystone species
Loss of Function Mutation
Population genetics
Predators
Structure-function relationships
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Summary:Genes encode information that determines an organism's fitness. Yet we know little about whether genes of one species influence the persistence of interacting species in an ecological community. Here, we experimentally tested the effect of three plant defense genes on the persistence of an insect food web and found that a single allele at a single gene promoted coexistence by increasing plant growth rate, which in turn increased the intrinsic growth rates of species across multiple trophic levels. Our discovery of a "keystone gene" illustrates the need to bridge between biological scales, from genes to ecosystems, to understand community persistence.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.abf2232