Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-g7gxr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T18:41:35.316Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Red coloration of tropical young leaves: a possible antifungal defence?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

Phyllis D. Coley  and
T. Mitchell Aide
Phyllis D. Coley
Affiliation:
Biology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112, USA
T. Mitchell Aide
Affiliation:
Biology Department, University of Utah, Salt Lake City 84112, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Many woody species in humid tropical forests synchronously flush entire canopies of young red leaves. Numerous unsuccessful attempts have been made to explain the adaptive value of this visually striking phenomenon. In the humid tropics, fungal attack is a potentially important source of mortality for expanding young leaves. We propose that the anthocyanins responsible for the red coloration of young leaves may play a protective role against invasions by leaf-attacking fungal pathogens.

Fungus-growing leaf cutting ants (Atta columbica Guerin) were used in choice tests because they are known to select against leaves or chemicals containing fungicidal properties. In feeding trials with leaf discs from 20 common species, ant preference decreased significantly with increasing anthocyanin content. In feeding trials with pure anthocyanin (3,3',4',5,7-pentahydroxyflavylium chloride) presented on oat flakes, ants again showed a significant dosage dependent preference. This suggests that even low concentrations of anthocyanins may be harmful to the fungal colonies of ants. Additional work on the effects of anthocyanin on leafattacking fungi is encouraged.

Keywords

anthocyaninantifungal defenceAtta columbicaherbivoryleaf-cutting antsPanamatropicsyoung leaves
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 5 , Issue 3 , August 1989 , pp. 293 - 300
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

LITERATURE CITED

Arrhenius, S. P. & Langenheim, J. H. 1983. Inhibitory effects of Hymenaea and Copaifera leaf resins on an associated leaf fungus, Pestalotia subcuticularis. Biochemistry, Systematics and Ecology 11:361–366.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arrhenius, S. P. & Langenheim, J. H. 1986. The association of Pestalotia species with members of the leguminous tree genera Hymenaea and Copaifera in the neotropics. Mycologia 78:673–676.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burgess, P. F. 1969. Colour changes in the forest. Malayan Nature Journal 22:171–173.Google Scholar
Caldwell, M. M. 1981. Plant responses to ultraviolet radiation. Pp. 170–197 in Physiological ecology. I. Encyclopedia of plant series II. Springer-Verlag, Heidelberg.Google Scholar
Caldwell, M. M., Robberecht, M. R. & Billings, W. D. 1980. A steep latitudinal gradient of solar ultraviolet-B radiation in the artic-alpine life zone. Ecology 61:600–611.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chazdon, R. L. & Fetcher, N. 1984. Light environments of tropical forests. Pp. 27–36 in Medina, E., Mooney, H. A. & Vazquez-Yanes, C. (eds). Physiolocal ecology of plants of the wet tropics. Junk, Boston.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cherrett, J. M. 1968. The foraging behavior of Atta cephalotes L. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae). I. Foraging pattern and plant species attacked in tropical rain forest. Journal of Animal Ecology 37:387–403.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Coley, P. D. 1981. Ecological and evolutionary responses of tropical trees to herbivory: a quantitative analysis of grazing damage, plant defences and growth rates. Dissertation, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.Google Scholar
Coley, P. D. 1982. Rates of herbivory on different tropical trees. Pp. 123–132 in Leigh, E. G. Jr, Rand, A. S. & Windsor, D. M. (eds). The ecology of a tropical forest: seasonal rhythms and long-term changes. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.Google Scholar
Coley, P. D. 1983. Herbivory and defensive characteristics of tree species in a lowland tropical forest. Ecological Monographs 53:209–233.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Croat, T. B. 1978. Flora of Barro Colorado Island. Stanford University Press, Stanford.Google Scholar
Cruickshank, I. A. M. & Perrin, D. R. 1964. Pathological function of phenolic compounds. Pp. 511–544 in Harborne, J. B. (ed.). Biochemistry of phenolic compounds. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Harborne, J. B. 1965. Flavonoids: distribution and contribution to plant colour. Pp. 247–278 in Goodwin, T. W. (ed.). Chemistry and biochemistry of plant pigments. Academic Press, London.Google Scholar
Harborne, J. B. 1967. Comparative biochemistry of the flavonoids. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Harborne, J. B. 1979a. Function of flavonoids in plants. Pp. 736–788 in Goodwin, T. W. (ed.). Chemistry and biochemistry of plant pigments. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
Harborne, J. B. 1979b. Flavonoid pigments. Pp. 619–655 in Rosenthal, G. A. & Janzen, D. H. (eds). Herbivores: their interactions with secondary plant metabolites. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
HoldriDge, L. R., Grenke, W. C., Hatheway, W. H., Liang, T. & Tosi, J. A. Jr 1971. Forest environment in tropical life zones: a pilot study. Pergamon Press, New York.Google Scholar
Howard, J. J. 1987. Leafcutting ant diet selection: the role of nutrients, water, and secondary chemistry. Ecology 68:503–515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Howard, J. J. & Wiemer, D. F. 1986. Chemical ecology of host plant selection by leaf-cutting ant Atta cephalotes. Pp. 260–273 in Lofgren, C. S. & VanderMeer, R. V. (eds). Fire ants and leaf-cutting ants. Westview Press, Boulder.Google Scholar
Hubbell, S. P. & Wiemer, D. F. 1983. Host plant selection by an attine ant. Pp. 133–154 in Jaisson, P. (ed.). Social insects in the tropics, Volume 2. University of Paris Press, Paris, France.Google Scholar
Hubbell, S. P., Wiemer, D. F. & Adejare, A. 1983. An antifungal terpenoid defends a neotropical tree (Hymenaea) against attack by fungus-growing ants (Atta). Oecologia 60:321–327.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hubbell, S. P., Howard, J. J. & Wiemer, D. F. 1984. Chemical leaf repellency to an attine ant: seasonal distribution among potential host plant species. Ecology 65:1067–1076.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kermarrec, A., Decharme, M. & Febray, G. 1986. Leaf-cutting ant symbiotic fungi: a synthesis of recent research. Pp. 231–246 in Lofgren, C. S. & VanderMeer, R. V. (eds). Fire ants and leaf-cutting ants. Westview Press, Boulder.Google Scholar
Langenheim, J. H. 1984. The roles of plant secondary chemicals in wet tropical ecosystems. Pp. 189–208 in Medina, E., Mooney, H. A. & Vazquez-Yanes, C. (eds). Physiological ecology of plants of the wet tropics. Junk Publishers, The Hague.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Langenheim, J. H., Foster, C. E., Lincoln, D. E. & Stubblebine, W. H. 1978. Implications of variation in resin composition among organs, tissues, and populations in the tropical legume Hymenaea. Biochemistry, Systematics and Ecology 6:299–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, D. W. & Lowry, J. B. 1980. Young leaf anthocyanin and solar ultraviolet. Biotropica 12:75–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lee, D. W., Brammeier, S. & Smith, A. P. 1987. The selective advantages of anthocyanins in developing leaves of mango and cacao. Biotropica 19:40–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leigh, E. G. Jr, Rand, A. S. & Windsor, D. M. (eds). 1982. The ecology of a tropical forest: seasonal rhythms and long-term changes. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.Google Scholar
McClure, J. W. 1975. Physiology and functions of flavonoids. Pp. 971–1055 in Harborne, J. B., Mabry, T.J. & Mabry, H. (eds). The flavonoids. Chapman and Hall, London.Google Scholar
Opler, P. A., Frankie, G. W. & Baker, H. G. 1980. Comparative phenological studies of treelet and shrub species in tropical wet and dry forest in the lowlands of Costa Rica. Journal of Ecology 68:167–188.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powers, J. J. 1964. Action of anthocyanin and related compounds in bacterial cells. Pp. 59–75 in Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium of Food Microbiology. Goteborg, Sweden.Google Scholar
Price, J. R. & Sturgess, V. C. 1938. A survey of anthocyanins. VI. Biochemistry Journal 32:1658–1660.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Quinlan, R. J. & Cherrett, J. M. 1979. The role of fungus in the diet of the leaf-cutting ant Atta columbica (L.). Ecological Entomology 4:151–160.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Richards, P. W. 1952. The tropical rainforest. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.Google Scholar
Smith, A. M. 1909. On the internal temperatures of leaves in tropical insolation, with special reference to the effect of their colour on temperature; also observations on the periodicity of the appearance of young coloured leaves of trees growing in Peradinaya Gardens. Annals of the Royal Botanical Garden Peradinaya 4:229–297.Google Scholar
Stone, B. C. 1979. Protective colouration of young leaves in certain Malaysian palms. Biotropica 11:126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swain, R. 1965. The tannins. Pp. 552–580 in Bonner, J. & Varner, J. E. (eds). Plant biochemistry. Academic Press, New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar