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Cross-induction of systemic induced resistance between an insect and a fungal pathogen in Austrian pine over a fertility gradient

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Abstract

Evidence for cross-induction of systemic resistance or susceptibility in plant–fungus–herbivore interactions is mostly derived from herbaceous model systems and not perennial woody plants. Furthermore, the effects of environmental variables such as soil fertility on these tripartite interactions are generally unknown. This study examined cross-induction of systemic resistance in Pinus nigra (Austrian pine) to infection by Sphaeropsis sapinea (a fungal pathogen), or feeding by Neodiprion sertifer (European pine sawfly), by prior induction with either S. sapinea or N. sertifer, over a fertility gradient. In a replicated 3-year study, cross-induction of systemic induced resistance (SIR) was found to be both asymmetric within a single year and variable between years. Prior induction with insect defoliation induced SIR to subsequent fungal challenge in 2006 but not in 2005. In 2005, a fertility-independent negative systemic effect of the fungal infection on herbivore growth was detected while herbivore survival was affected by a significant interaction between induction treatment and fertility level in 2006. Prior infection by the fungus induced SIR against the same fungus in both years regardless of fertility levels. This is the first report of whole-plant SIR against a defoliating insect induced by a fungal pathogen and vice versa, under variable nutrient availability, in a conifer or any other tree.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Bryant Chambers, Diane Hartzler, Matt Solensky, Alejandro Chiriboga, Ilka Gomez, Duan Wang, Sheldon Steiner, and Kelly Hendricks for technical and field support. Thanks to Kurtz Bros. for nursery substrate. Thanks to two anonymous reviewers for useful suggestions on the manuscript. Salaries and research support provided in part by the USDA National Research Initiative Competitive Grants Program no. 2004-35302-14667 and by state and federal funds to the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State University. All experiments comply with the laws of the USA.

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  1. Rodrigo Chorbadjian

    Present address: Departamento de Ciencias Vegetales, Facultad de Agronomía e Ingeniería Forestal, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Casilla 306-22, Santiago, Chile

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Plant Pathology, Ohio State University, 201 Kottman Hall, 2021 Coffey Road, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA

    Alieta Eyles, Chris Wallis & Pierluigi Bonello

  2. Department of Entomology, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Ohio State University, 1680 Madison Ave, Wooster, OH, 44691, USA

    Rodrigo Chorbadjian & Dan Herms

  3. Department of Food, Agriculture and Biological Engineering, Ohio State University, 108 Agricultural Engineering Building, 1680 Madison Avenue, Wooster, OH, 44691, USA

    Robert Hansen

  4. Department of Biological Sciences, Wright State University, 208 Biological Sciences Building, 3640 Colonel Glenn Hwy, Dayton, OH, 45435, USA

    Don Cipollini

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Correspondence to Alieta Eyles.

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Communicated by Judith Bronstein.

Alieta Eyles and Rodrigo Chorbadjian contributed equally to the paper.

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Eyles, A., Chorbadjian, R., Wallis, C. et al. Cross-induction of systemic induced resistance between an insect and a fungal pathogen in Austrian pine over a fertility gradient. Oecologia 153, 365–374 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0741-z

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