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Open AccessArticle
Combined Effects of Heavy Metal and Simulated Herbivory on Leaf Trichome Density in Sunflowers
by
Eyal Grossman
Eyal Grossman 1,
Ilana Shtein
Ilana Shtein 2 and
Michal Gruntman
Michal Gruntman 1,3,*
1
Porter School of the Environment and Earth Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
2
Eastern R&D Center, Milken Campus, Ariel 40700, Israel
3
School of Plant Sciences and Food Security, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv 69978, Israel
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Plants 2024, 13(19), 2733; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13192733 (registering DOI)
Submission received: 22 August 2024
/
Revised: 16 September 2024
/
Accepted: 24 September 2024
/
Published: 29 September 2024
Abstract
Trichomes play a key role in both heavy metal tolerance and herbivory defense, and both stressors have been shown to induce increased trichome density. However, the combined effect of these stressors on trichome density in general, and specifically on metal-hyperaccumulating plants, has yet to be examined. The aim of this study was to test the effect of cadmium availability and herbivory on leaf trichome density and herbivore deterrence in the metal hyperaccumulator Helianthus annuus. To test this, H. Annuus plants were grown in control pots or pots inoculated with 10 mg/kg cadmium and were subjected to either no herbivory or simulated herbivory using mechanical damage and foliar jasmonic acid application. Herbivore deterrence was tested in a feeding assay using Spodoptera littoralis caterpillars. Interestingly, while the trichome density of H. annuus increased by 79% or 53.5% under high cadmium availability or simulated herbivory, respectively, it decreased by 26% when the stressors were combined. Furthermore, regardless of cadmium availability, simulated herbivory induced a 40% increase in deterrence of S. littoralis. These findings suggest that the combination of metal availability and herbivory might present excessive stress to hyperaccumulators. Moreover, they suggest that the risk of metal bioaccumulation in phytoremediation can be reduced by simulated herbivory.
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MDPI and ACS Style
Grossman, E.; Shtein, I.; Gruntman, M.
Combined Effects of Heavy Metal and Simulated Herbivory on Leaf Trichome Density in Sunflowers. Plants 2024, 13, 2733.
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13192733
AMA Style
Grossman E, Shtein I, Gruntman M.
Combined Effects of Heavy Metal and Simulated Herbivory on Leaf Trichome Density in Sunflowers. Plants. 2024; 13(19):2733.
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13192733
Chicago/Turabian Style
Grossman, Eyal, Ilana Shtein, and Michal Gruntman.
2024. "Combined Effects of Heavy Metal and Simulated Herbivory on Leaf Trichome Density in Sunflowers" Plants 13, no. 19: 2733.
https://doi.org/10.3390/plants13192733
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