Induced Responses to Herbivory

by Richard Karban

• ISBN13: 9780226424965
• ISBN10: 0226424960
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 2007-12-01
• Publisher: University of Chicago Press

Summary

Plants face a daunting array of creatures that eat them, bore into them, and otherwise use virtually every plant part for food, shelter, or both. But although plants cannot flee from their attackers, they are far from defenseless. In addition to adaptations like thorns, which may be produced in response to attack, plants actively alter their chemistry and physiology in response to damage. For instance, young potato plant leaves being eaten by potato beetles respond by producing chemicals that inhibit beetle digestive enzymes. Over the past fifteen years, research on these induced responses to herbivory has flourished, and here Richard Karban and Ian T. Baldwin present the first comprehensive evaluation and synthesis of this rapidly developing field. They provide state-of-the-discipline reviews and highlight areas where new research will be most productive. Their comprehensive overview will be welcomed by a wide variety of theoretical and applied researchers in ecology, evolutionary biology, plant biology, entomology, and agriculture.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

An Introduction to the Phenomena and Phenomenology of Induction

How a Plant Perceives Damage and Signals Other Ramets, and the Specificity of these Processes

Mechanisms of Induced Responses

Induced Resistance against Herbivores

Induced Defense and the Evolution of Induced Resistance

Using Induced Resistance in Agriculture

References

Index

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