Tetranychusevansi spider mite populations suppress tomato defenses to varying degrees

• DOI: 10.1002/ece3.6204
• Publication Date: 2020-04-13T01:14:50Z
• Authors: Bram Knegt; Tomas T. Meijer; Merijn R. Kant; E. Toby Kiers; Martijn Egas
• Keywords: Jasmonic acid

Plant defense suppression is an offensive strategy of herbivores, in which they manipulate plant physiological processes to increase their performance. Paradoxically, does not always benefit the defense-suppressing because lowered defenses can also enhance performance competing herbivores and expose increased predation. Suppression may therefore entail considerable ecological costs depending on presence competitors natural enemies a community. Hence, we hypothesize that optimal magnitude differs among locations. To investigate this, studied across populations Tetranychus evansi spider mites, herbivore from South America invasive pest solanaceous plants including cultivated tomato, Solanum lycopersicum, other parts world. We measured level expression marker genes tomato after infestation with mites eleven different T. populations. These were chosen range native (South American) non-native (other continents) environments host species. found significant variation at three out four genes, demonstrating suppress jasmonic acid- salicylic acid-dependent signaling pathways varying degrees. While no indication this was explained by differences species, tended smaller extent than This reflect either genetic lineage evansi-as all belong one linage both another-or absence specialized