Research into the genetic basis of the ecological sophistication of plants is hampered by the availability of transformable systems with a wealth of well-described ecological interactions. We present an Agrobacterium-mediated transformation system for the model ecological expression system, Nicotiana attenuata, a native tobacco that occupies the post-fire niche in the Great Basin Desert of North America. We describe a transformation vector and a transformation procedure that differs from the standard cultivated tobacco transformation protocols in its use of selectable markers, explants, media and cultivation conditions. We illustrate its utility in the transformations with genes coding for key enzymes in the oxylipin cascade (lipoxygenase, allene oxide synthase, hydroperoxide lyase) in antisense orientations and present high-throughput screens useful for the detection of altered phenotypes for the oxylipin cascade (green leaf volatiles and jasmonic acid after wounding).

Both allo- and autotetraploidy induce considerable morphological, genetic and genomic changes, many of which are retained by at least one of the natural polyploids. It is proposed that both natural and synthetic polyploids are well suited for studying the evolution of adaptive responses.

Several lines of evidence support the defensive function of nicotine production in the Nicotiana genus against a range of herbivores, but the evidence is largely correlative. To suppress nicotine production in planta and to test its defensive function, we expressed DNA of putrescine N-methyl transferase in an antisense orientation (AS-PMT) in N. syl6estris and fed leaf material from two lines of transformed and wild type plants to Manduca sexta larvae. Larvae consumed more leaf area and gained more mass on the foliage of plants with low PMT expression and low nicotine levels as compared to plants with high PMT expression and high nicotine levels and wild type plants. Overall, larval consumption and performance were negatively correlated with constitutive nicotine levels. We conclude that nicotine decreases the palatability of N. syl6estris leaves to the nicotine-resistant M. sexta larvae.

SummaryAllopolyploid hybridization instantly merges two differentially adapted genomes into one individual. Allopolyploids are often evolutionarily successful, undergoing adaptive radiations despite the genetic and physiological challenges of merging genomes. We examine a suite of induced herbivore resistance traits in three independent lines of the synthetic allopolyploid Nicotiana · mierata (Nma) and its parent species, N. miersii (Nmi) and N. attenuata (Na), to determine how a complex polygenetic adaptation fares during the early stages of neoallopolyploid formation. All species responded to Manduca sexta oral secretions (OS) with a temporally prolonged jasmonate (JA) burst. In one parent (Na), the JA burst was additionally amplified and associated with the elicitation of direct and indirect defenses. In the other parent (Nmi), OS neither amplified the JA burst nor elicited defense responses, although applied MeJA confirmed the inducibility of the defense responses. All lines of Nma retained enough aspects of Na's JA signaling to recognize OS and to accumulate sufficient direct defenses to impair the growth of Manduca larvae. Most defense-related metabolites were retained in Nma even if inherited from only one parent; however, OS-elicited volatiles, trypsin protease inhibitors (TPIs) and chlorogenic acid were lost in some lines, even though MeJA treatment elicited similar responses in all lines. Herbivore defense systems are flexibly inherited in allopolyploids, causing individuals to diverge over only a few generations; for example, line 1 of Nma could not produce TPIs after OS elicitation, whereas lines 2 and 3 could. This flexible integration of defense signaling systems with a diversity of elicited responses may explain why adaptive radiations are commonly found in allopolyploid lineages.

Flowers of the genus Arum are known to attract dung-breeding flies and beetles through olfactory deceit. In addition to this strategy, the genus has evolved several other pollination mechanisms. The present study aimed to characterize the pollination strategies of the Cretan Arum species by investigating the flowering phenology, thermogeny, inflorescence odours, and the pollinating fauna. The results obtained show that Arum cyrenaicum and Arum concinnatum emit a strong dung smell and exhibit the distinctive features associated with this pollination syndrome. Both species are highly thermogenic, have a similar odour profile and attract small-bodied Diptera. Although sharing the same habitat, these two plant species are never found growing sympatrically as a result of the early blooming period of A. cyrenaicum. By contrast, Arum creticum and Arum idaeum have evolved a more traditional and mutually beneficial pollination mechanism. The stinking smell has been replaced by a more flower-like odour that attracts bees (Lasioglossum sp.) and, occasionally, bugs (Dionconotus cruentatus). Although attracting the same pollinator, the main compound present in the odour of A. creticum is different from that of A. idaeum. Principal component analysis (PCA), based on physiologically active components of the flower odours determined by testing on the antenna of the Lasioglossum bee, revealed two different clusters, indicating that pollinators can potentially discriminate between the odours of the two species. A further PCA on the main floral odour volatiles as identified by gas chroatography-mass spectroscopy from all the Arum species under investigation displayed odour-based similarities and differences among the species. The PCA-gas chomotographyelectroantennographic detection active peaks analysis showed that the two species, A. creticum and A. idaeum, form two groups and are clearly separated from A. cyrenaicum and A. concinnatum, which, conversely, cluster together. The evolutionary forces and selective pressures leading to diversification of pollination mechanisms in the Cretan Arum spp. are discussed.