Domesticated plants can differ from their wild counterparts in the strength and outcome of species interactions, both above‐ and belowground. Plant–soil feedbacks influence plant success, and plant‐associated soil microbial communities can influence plant interactions with herbivores and their natural enemies, yet, it remains unclear if domestication has changed these relationships. To determine the effects of domestication on plant–soil interactions, we characterized soil microbial communities associated with various cultivars of domesticated tomato and some of its wild relatives. We measured the strength and direction of plant–soil feedbacks for domesticated and wild tomatoes, and the effects of soil on plant resistance to specialist herbivory by Domesticated tomatoes and their wild relatives had negative plant–soil feedbacks, as conspecifics cultivated soil that negatively impacted performance of subsequent plants (longer germination time, lower biomass) than if they grew in non‐tomato soils. Significant variation existed among domesticated and wild tomato varieties in the strength of these feedbacks, ranging from neutral to strongly negative. For above‐ground plant biomass, tomato wild relatives were unaffected by growing in tomato‐conditioned soil, whereas domesticated tomatoes grew smaller in tomato soil, indicating effects of plant domestication. Overall, increased microbial biomass within the rhizosphere resulted in progressively less‐negative plant–soil feedbacks. Plant cultivars had different levels of resistance to herbivory by
Host plants that promote development of insect herbivores are sometimes less preferred to more toxic plants, which are co‐opted for protection from natural enemies, resulting in higher fitness in communities with strong top‐down control. However, the degree to which variation in growth rate and risk of natural enemy attack drive insect plant preferences is an open question, with little field data available across diverse plant families. The present study investigated the preference–performance relationship and tritrophic interactions involving the hornworm In the field, the most preferred plants for female oviposition tended to be inversely correlated with the species providing optimal larval growth. Hawkmoths preferred plants in the subgenus The data obtained in the present study show that the negative preference‐performance relationship in hornworms across solanaceous plants is maintained in part because by utilising noxious food plants
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10458107
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Ecological Entomology
- Volume:
- 45
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0307-6946
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 783-794
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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