RT Journal Article
T1 Phloem-feeding herbivores affect floral development and reproduction in the Etruscan Honeysuckle (Lonicera etrusca Santi)
A1 Rojas Nossa, Sandra Victoria
A1 Sanchez Fernandez, José María
A1 Navarro Echeverria, Luis Alberto
K1 2417.03 Botánica General
K1 2401.06 Ecología Animal
K1 3107.03 Floricultura
AB Floral development depends on multifactor processes related to genetic, physiological, and ecological pathways. Plants respond to herbivores by activating mechanisms aimed at tolerating, compensating, or avoiding loss of biomass and nutrients, and thereby survive in a complex landscape of interactions. Thus, plants need to overcome trade-offs between development, growth, and reproduction vs. the initiation of anti-herbivore defences. This study aims to assess the frequency of phloem-feeding herbivores in wild populations of the Etruscan honeysuckle (Lonicera etrusca Santi) and study their effects on floral development and reproduction. The incidence of herbivory by the honeysuckle aphid (Hyadaphis passerinii del Guercio) was assessed in three wild populations of the Iberian Peninsula. The effect of herbivory on floral morphology, micromorphology of stigmas and pollen, floral rewards, pollination, and fruit and seed set were studied. The herbivory by aphids reduces the size of flowers and pollen. Additionally, it stops nectar synthesis and causes malformation in pollen and microstructures of stigmas, affecting pollination. As a consequence, fruit set and seed weight are reduced. This work provides evidence of the changes induced by phloem-feeding herbivores in floral development and functioning that affect the ecological processes necessary to maintain the reproductive success of plants.
PB Plants
SN 22237747
YR 2021
FD 2021-04-20
LK http://hdl.handle.net/11093/2134
UL http://hdl.handle.net/11093/2134
LA eng
NO Plants, 10(4): 815 (2021)
NO Dirección General de Investigación, Ciencia y Tecnología (España) | Ref. CGL2009-10466
DS Investigo
RD 19-ene-2025