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ViewAttendees 20

P-IE

Section Symposium

“It’s Going Down for Real” Ecological Interactions in the Soil

8: Plant responses to belowground herbivory alter interactions with aboveground herbivores

Monday, November 16, 2020
5:55 PM - 6:10 PM EST
Livestream
Plants induce defenses following attack from both above- and belowground insect herbivores. Herbivore-damaged roots or shoots can systemically alter the defensive status of a plant in the opposing compartment, but our knowledge on such systemic changes in plant defense remains limited. Therefore, we sought to investigate how belowground insect herbivory alters aboveground plant-herbivore interactions. We tested these cross-compartment interactions using squash (Cucurbita pepo) and challenged plants belowground with specialist root-feeding striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum) larvae. Overall, our results indicate belowground herbivory modifies systemic plant defenses, highlighting the underestimated role of belowground attack in aboveground plant-insect interactions.