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Deterrence of herbivory by zinc hyperaccumulation in Thlaspi caerulescens (Brassicaceae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 April 1997

A. JOSEPH POLLARD  and
ALAN J. M. BAKER
A. JOSEPH POLLARD
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Furman University, Greenville, South Carolina 29613, USA
ALAN J. M. BAKER
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
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Abstract

Plants known as hyperaccumulators take up and sequester high concentrations of potentially toxic elements from metalliferous soils. We tested the hypothesis that zinc hyperaccumulation benefits plants by deterring herbivory. In laboratory feeding trials, three species of herbivores were allowed to choose between Thlaspi caerulescens (Brassicaceae) plants grown in low-Zn and Zn-amended culture solution. Locusts (Schistocerca gregaria), slugs (Deroceras caruanae), and caterpillars (Pieris brassicae) all showed significant preferences for plants with lower foliar Zn concentrations. Such differential feeding could result in selection pressures favouring the evolution of hyperaccumulation. The findings are also relevant to current proposals to exploit hyperaccumulation as a means of remediating metal-contaminated soils.

Keywords

ZinchyperaccumulationherbivorydefenceThlaspi caerulescens
Type
Research Article
Information
The New Phytologist , Volume 135 , Issue 4 , April 1997 , pp. 655 - 658
Copyright
© Trustees of the New Phytologist 1997

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