Water Deficiency and Induced Defense Against a Generalist Insect Herbivore in Desert and Mediterranean Populations of Eruca sativa.

In natural and agricultural ecosystems, plants are often simultaneously or sequentially exposed to combinations of stressors. Here we tested whether limited water availability (LWA) affects plant response to insect herbivory using two populations of Eruca sativa from desert and Mediterranean habitats that differ in their induced defenses. Considering that such differences evolved as responses to biotic and possibly abiotic stress factors, the two populations offered an opportunity to study ecological aspects in plant response to combined stresses.

Transcriptome responses to different herbivores reveal differences in defense strategies between populations of Eruca sativa.

Background: Intraspecific variations among induced responses might lead to understanding of adaptive variations in defense strategies against insects. We employed RNA-Seq transcriptome screening to elucidate the molecular basis for phenotypic differences between two populations of Eruca sativa (Brassicaceae), in defense against larvae of the generalist and specialist insects, Spodoptera littoralis and Pieris brassicae, respectively. The E.

Evolution of phenotypic plasticity: Genetic differentiation and additive genetic variation for induced plant defence in wild arugula Eruca sativa.

Phenotypic plasticity is the primary mechanism of organismal resilience to abiotic and biotic stress, and genetic differentiation in plasticity can evolve if stresses differ among populations. Inducible defence is a common form of adaptive phenotypic plasticity, and long-standing theory predicts that its evolution is shaped by costs of the defensive traits, costs of plasticity and a trade-off in allocation to constitutive versus induced traits. We used a common garden to study the evolution of defence in two native populations of wild arugula Eruca sativa (Brassicaceae) from contrasting desert and Mediterranean habitats that differ in attack by caterpillars and aphids.

Natural Variation in Flower Color and Scent in Populations of Eruca sativa (Brassicaceae) Affects Pollination Behavior of Honey Bees.

Plants of Eruca sativa Mill. (Brassicaceae) from desert and Mediterranean populations in Israel differ in flower color and size. In the desert habitat, the population has higher abundance of flowers with cream color and longer petals, whereas in the Mediterranean habitat, the population has higher abundance of flowers with yellow and shorter petals.

The Plant Host Induces Antibiotic Production To Select the Most-Beneficial Colonizers.

Microbial ecosystems tightly associated with a eukaryotic host are widespread in nature. The genetic and metabolic networks of the eukaryotic hosts and the associated microbes have coevolved to form a symbiotic relationship. Both the Gram-positive and the Gram-negative can form biofilms on plant roots and thus can serve as a model system for the study of interspecies interactions in a host-associated ecosystem.

Intraspecific variation in defense against a generalist lepidopteran herbivore in populations of Eruca sativa (Mill.).

Populations of Eruca sativa (Brassicaceae) from desert and Mediterranean (Med) habitats in Israel differ in their defense against larvae of the generalist Spodoptera littoralis but not the specialist Pieris brassicae. Larvae of the generalist insect feeding on plants of the Med population gained significantly less weight than those feeding on the desert plants, and exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MJ) on leaves of the Med plants significantly reduced the level of damage created by the generalist larvae. However, MJ treatment significantly induced resistance in plants of the desert population, whereas the generalist larvae caused similar damage to MJ-induced and noninduced plants.

Selective breeding for dominant and submissive behavior in Sabra mice.

Background: The Dominant-Submissive Relationship (DSR) model used here was developed for mood stabilizing and antidepressant drug testing. Treatment of submissive animals with known antidepressants significantly reduced submissive behavior in a dose-dependent manner. We hypothesized that if submissive behavior in DSR is a valid model of depression, it should be possible to show a genetic predisposition for this trait, since clinical studies support a genetic component for depression.