Diversity and divergence: evolution of secondary metabolism in the tropical tree genus Inga.

Plants are widely recognized as chemical factories, with each species producing dozens to hundreds of unique secondary metabolites. These compounds shape the interactions between plants and their natural enemies. We explore the evolutionary patterns and processes by which plants generate chemical diversity, from evolving novel compounds to unique chemical profiles.

Phenolics lie at the centre of functional versatility in the responses of two phytochemically diverse tropical trees to canopy thinning.

Saplings in the shade of the tropical understorey face the challenge of acquiring sufficient carbon for growth as well as defence against intense pest pressure. A minor increase in light availability via canopy thinning may allow for increased investment in chemical defence against pests, but it may also necessitate additional biochemical investment to prevent light-induced oxidative stress. The shifts in secondary metabolite composition that increased sun exposure may precipitate in such tree species present an ideal milieu for evaluating the potential of a single suite of phenolic secondary metabolites to be used in mitigating both abiotic and biotic stressors.

Herbivores as drivers of negative density dependence in tropical forest saplings.

Ecological theory predicts that the high local diversity observed in tropical forests is maintained by negative density-dependent interactions within and between closely related plant species. By using long-term data on tree growth and survival for coexisting (Fabaceae, Mimosoideae) congeners, we tested two mechanisms thought to underlie negative density dependence (NDD): competition for resources and attack by herbivores. We quantified the similarity of neighbors in terms of key ecological traits that mediate these interactions, as well as the similarity of herbivore communities.

Tracking of Host Defenses and Phylogeny During the Radiation of Neotropical -Feeding Sawflies (Hymenoptera; Argidae).

Coevolutionary theory has long predicted that the arms race between plants and herbivores is a major driver of host selection and diversification. At a local scale, plant defenses contribute significantly to the structure of herbivore assemblages and the high alpha diversity of plants in tropical rain forests. However, the general importance of plant defenses in host associations and divergence at regional scales remains unclear.

Chemocoding as an identification tool where morphological- and DNA-based methods fall short: Inga as a case study.

The need for species identification and taxonomic discovery has led to the development of innovative technologies for large-scale plant identification. DNA barcoding has been useful, but fails to distinguish among many species in species-rich plant genera, particularly in tropical regions. Here, we show that chemical fingerprinting, or 'chemocoding', has great potential for plant identification in challenging tropical biomes.

Consequences of interspecific variation in defenses and herbivore host choice for the ecology and evolution of Inga, a speciose rainforest tree.

We summarize work on a speciose Neotropical tree genus, Inga (Fabaceae), examining how interspecific variation in anti-herbivore defenses may have evolved, how defenses shape host choice by herbivores and how they might regulate community composition and influence species radiations. Defenses of expanding leaves include secondary metabolites, extrafloral nectaries, rapid leaf expansion, trichomes, and synchrony and timing of leaf production. These six classes of defenses are orthogonal, supporting independent evolutionary trajectories.

Coevolutionary arms race versus host defense chase in a tropical herbivore-plant system.

Coevolutionary models suggest that herbivores drive diversification and community composition in plants. For herbivores, many questions remain regarding how plant defenses shape host choice and community structure. We addressed these questions using the tree genus and its lepidopteran herbivores in the Amazon.

Dispersal assembly of rain forest tree communities across the Amazon basin.

We investigate patterns of historical assembly of tree communities across Amazonia using a newly developed phylogeny for the species-rich neotropical tree genus We compare our results with those for three other ecologically important, diverse, and abundant Amazonian tree lineages, , Protieae, and Our analyses using phylogenetic diversity metrics demonstrate a clear lack of geographic phylogenetic structure, and show that local communities of and regional communities of all four lineages are assembled by dispersal across Amazonia. The importance of dispersal in the biogeography of and other tree genera in Amazonian and Guianan rain forests suggests that speciation is not driven by vicariance, and that allopatric isolation following dispersal may be involved in the speciation process. A clear implication of these results is that over evolutionary timescales, the metacommunity for any local or regional tree community in the Amazon is the entire Amazon basin.

Current ambient concentrations of ozone in Panama modulate the leaf chemistry of the tropical tree Ficus insipida.

Tropospheric ozone (O) is a major air pollutant and greenhouse gas, affecting carbon dynamics, ecological interactions, and agricultural productivity across continents and biomes. Elevated [O] has been documented in tropical evergreen forests, the epicenters of terrestrial primary productivity and plant-consumer interactions. However, the effects of O on vegetation have not previously been studied in these forests.

High herbivore pressure favors constitutive over induced defense.

Unlabelled: Theoretical and empirical studies show that, when past or current herbivory is a reliable cue of future attack and defenses are costly, defenses can be induced only when needed and thereby permit investment in other functions such as growth or reproduction. Theory also states that, in environments where herbivory is constantly high, constitutive defenses should be favored. Here, we present data to support the second aspect of the induced resistance hypothesis.

Does leaf shedding protect stems from cavitation during seasonal droughts? A test of the hydraulic fuse hypothesis.

During droughts, leaves are predicted to act as 'hydraulic fuses' by shedding when plants reach critically low water potential (Ψ ), thereby slowing water loss, stabilizing Ψ and protecting against cavitation-induced loss of stem hydraulic conductivity (K ). We tested these predictions among trees in seasonally dry tropical forests, where leaf shedding is common, yet variable, among species. We tracked leaf phenology, Ψ and K in saplings of six tree species distributed across two forests.

Quantitative and qualitative shifts in defensive metabolites define chemical defense investment during leaf development in Inga, a genus of tropical trees.

Selective pressures imposed by herbivores are often positively correlated with investments that plants make in defense. Research based on the framework of an evolutionary arms race has improved our understanding of why the amount and types of defenses differ between plant species. However, plant species are exposed to different selective pressures during the life of a leaf, such that expanding leaves suffer more damage from herbivores and pathogens than mature leaves.

Diverse patterns of stored water use among saplings in seasonally dry tropical forests.

Tree species in seasonally dry tropical forests likely vary in their drought-survival mechanisms. Drought-deciduousness, which reduces water loss, and low wood density, which may permit dependence on stored water, are considered key traits. For saplings of six species at two distinct sites, we studied these and two associated traits: the seasonal amount of water released per stem volume ("water released") and the hydraulic capacitance of the stem (C).

The effect of symbiotic ant colonies on plant growth: a test using an Azteca-Cecropia system.

In studies of ant-plant mutualisms, the role that ants play in increasing the growth rates of their plant partners is potentially a key beneficial service. In the field, we measured the growth of Cecropia glaziovii saplings and compared individuals that were naturally colonized by Azteca muelleri ants with uncolonized plants in different seasons (wet and dry). We also measured light availability as well as attributes that could be influenced by the presence of Azteca colonies, such as herbivory, leaf nutrients (total nitrogen and δ(15)N), and investments in defense (total phenolics and leaf mass per area).

The global distribution of diet breadth in insect herbivores.

Understanding variation in resource specialization is important for progress on issues that include coevolution, community assembly, ecosystem processes, and the latitudinal gradient of species richness. Herbivorous insects are useful models for studying resource specialization, and the interaction between plants and herbivorous insects is one of the most common and consequential ecological associations on the planet. However, uncertainty persists regarding fundamental features of herbivore diet breadth, including its relationship to latitude and plant species richness.

Bioactivity of fungal endophytes as a function of endophyte taxonomy and the taxonomy and distribution of their host plants.

Fungal endophytes--fungi that grow within plant tissues without causing immediate signs of disease--are abundant and diverse producers of bioactive secondary metabolites. Endophytes associated with leaves of tropical plants are an especially exciting and relatively untapped source of novel compounds. However, one major challenge in drug discovery lies in developing strategies to efficiently recover highly bioactive strains.

Mycoleptodiscins A and B, cytotoxic alkaloids from the endophytic fungus Mycoleptodiscus sp. F0194.

Two novel reddish-orange alkaloids, mycoleptodiscin A (1) and mycoleptodiscin B (2), were isolated from liquid cultures of the endophytic fungus Mycoleptodiscus sp. that had been isolated from Desmotes incomparabilis in Panama. Elucidation of their structures was accomplished using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopy in combination with IR spectroscopic and MS data.

Antifungal Depsidone Metabolites from Cordyceps dipterigena, an Endophytic Fungus Antagonistic to the Phytopathogen Gibberella fujikuroi.

Among thirty four endophytic fungal strains screened for in vitro antagonism, the endophytic fungus Cordyceps dipterigena was found to strongly inhibit mycelial growth of the plant pathogenic fungus Gibberella fujikuroi. Two new depsidone metabolites, cordycepsidone A (1) and cordycepsidone B (2), were isolated from the PDA culture extract of C. dipterigena and identified as being responsible for the antifungal activity.

Coibanoles, a new class of meroterpenoids produced by .

Three new terpenoids of mixed biosynthetic origin were isolated from the culture filtrate of the endophytic fungus . Their structures were determined by extensive spectroscopic analyses. We have named these tricyclic and tetracyclic metabolites 'coibanoles A-C' in reference to Coiba Island and Coiba National Park, Panamá, from which the plant and endophyte were collected.

Chemical constituents of the new endophytic fungus Mycosphaerella sp. nov. and their anti-parasitic activity.

Chemical investigation of a new endophytic fungus, Mycosphaerella sp. nov. strain F2140, associated with the foliage of the plant Psychotria horizontalis (Rubiaceae) in Panama, resulted in the isolation of cercosporin (1) and a new cercosporin analog (3) as the major components.

Do differences in understory light contribute to species distributions along a tropical rainfall gradient?

In tropical forests, regional differences in annual rainfall correlate with differences in plant species composition. Although water availability is clearly one factor determining species distribution, other environmental variables that covary with rainfall may contribute to distributions. One such variable is light availability in the understory, which decreases towards wetter forests due to differences in canopy density and phenology.

Culturing and direct PCR suggest prevalent host generalism among diverse fungal endophytes of tropical forest grasses.

Most studies examining endophytic fungi associated with grasses (Poaceae) have focused on agronomically important species in managed ecosystems or on wild grasses in subtropical, temperate and boreal grasslands. However grasses first arose in tropical forests, where they remain a significant and diverse component of understory and forest-edge communities. To provide a broader context for understanding grass-endophyte associations we characterized fungal endophyte communities inhabiting foliage of 11 species of phylogenetically diverse C(3) grasses in the understory of a lowland tropical forest at Barro Colorado Island, Panama.

The evolution of antiherbivore defenses and their contribution to species coexistence in the tropical tree genus Inga.

Plants and their herbivores constitute more than half of the organisms in tropical forests. Therefore, a better understanding of the evolution of plant defenses against their herbivores may be central for our understanding of tropical biodiversity. Here, we address the evolution of antiherbivore defenses and their possible contribution to coexistence in the Neotropical tree genus Inga (Fabaceae).

Pests vs. drought as determinants of plant distribution along a tropical rainfall gradient.

Understanding the mechanisms that shape the distribution of organisms can help explain patterns of local and regional biodiversity and predict the susceptibility of communities to environmental change. In the species-rich tropics, a gradient in rainfall between wet evergreen and dry seasonal forests correlates with turnover of plant species. The strength of the dry season has previously been shown to correlate with species composition.