Native hemiparasite and light effects on photoprotection and photodamage in a native host

Cirocco, Robert M; Waterman, Melinda J.; Robinson, Sharon A.; Watling, Jennifer R.

doi:10.1071/fp15132

Cited by 12 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 62 publications

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“…; Decleer, Bonte & van Diggelen ; Cirocco et al . ). Such suppressive effects suggest that native (hemi)parasitic plants may be considered as potential biological controls of competitive dominants possibly including invasive species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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Suppressing competitive dominants and community restoration with native parasitic plants using the hemiparasitic Rhinanthus alectorolophus and the dominant grass Calamagrostis epigejos

Těšitel

Mládek

Horník

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary Dominance of native or alien competitive plants causes competitive exclusion of subordinate species and represents a major mechanism reducing biodiversity following land‐use changes. The successful competitive strategies may, however, be interfered with by parasitic plants, which withdraw resources from other plants' vasculature. Parasitism may strongly reduce the growth of the dominants, which may facilitate regeneration of other species and consequently trigger restoration of natural communities of high diversity. Here, we aim to provide robust empirical evidence demonstrating this restoration potential of parasitic plants. We present a case study testing suppressive effects of hemiparasitic Rhinanthus alectorolophus on competitive grass Calamagrostis epigejos. In recent decades, C. epigejos has invaded many high‐nature‐value semi‐natural grasslands of Central Europe, which is one of the prominent factors causing their biodiversity decline. We conducted three manipulative field experiments testing the effect of sowing of R. alectorolophus in different vegetation types infested by C. epigejos. Rhinanthus sowing was compared to different mowing treatments recommended as the ‘best practice’ management at respective sites. Rhinanthus alectorolophus established itself in most C. epigejos‐dominated plots where sown. Calamagrostis epigejos was virtually exterminated in 2 years in two of the experiments (dry meadow and industrial area). In the wet‐meadow experiment, the suppressive effect was variable as a result of uneven establishment success of Rhinanthus. In this experiment increased mowing intensity had an additional suppressive effect on C. epigejos. Rhinanthus also increased regeneration potential of other species by a temporary reduction of vegetation density. Restoration of target vegetation composition was, however, dependent on community context. Synthesis and applications. We demonstrated that hemiparasitic Rhinanthus alectorolophus is an accessible and efficient tool for targeted biological control of Calamagrostis epigejos, with a great potential to restore infested grassland vegetation. The strong effect of Rhinanthus is caused by interference with the underground storage and clonal growth strategy of Calamagrostis epigejos, which are both traits that underlie its competitive ability. The potential of native parasitic plants should be considered in restoration management of sites infested by competitive dominants, either alien or native.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…; Cirocco et al . ). While these studies indicate a general ability of plant parasites to decrease vitality of some competitive dominants (including alien invasives), their use as a targeted measure in ecological restoration remains to be evaluated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Suppressing competitive dominants and community restoration with native parasitic plants using the hemiparasitic Rhinanthus alectorolophus and the dominant grass Calamagrostis epigejos

Těšitel

Mládek

Horník

et al. 2017

Journal of Applied Ecology

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“…However, reductions in F v / F m can also indicate the presence of reversible photoprotective mechanisms, such as those mediated by the xanthophyll cycle (Demmig‐Adams & Adams ; Cirocco et al . ). In this case quenching of fluorescence will also be manifest in a reduced F o .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

High tolerance of repeated heatwaves in Australian native plants

et al. 2019

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Heatwaves, with increases in day and night time temperatures, are predicted to increase in frequency. We investigated the response of forbs, shrubs, grasses and non-grass monocotyledons from warm temperate environments in Australia to repeated heatwaves to determine if responses differed with growth form and whether the addition of hot night temperatures influenced the ability of species to grow and acclimate. Plants were subjected to 3, 3-day heatwaves comprising either hot days and nights or hot days and cool nights, with control plants maintained under cool days and nights. All species were thermotolerant to repeated heatwaves, although two species showed lower biomass under heat treatments, indicating repeated heatwaves influenced function in some, but not all species. While there was evidence of photosynthetic damage in some species, these recovered by the end of the experiment. While grasses and one herb showed some evidence of photosystem acclimation, increases in the threshold temperatures for membrane breakdown only occurred in one shrub. Leaf sacrifice in grasses was significantly increased after repeated heatwaves suggesting that fuel loads in grass communities will increase in the future. These results indicate high resilience for these Australian native warm temperate plants although lower growth rates in some species after heatwaves may result in changes to community composition.

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“…In contrast, haustoria on the invasive species and on the other native species (L. myrsinoides) were able to penetrate host tissues successfully and, in C. scoparius, supported transfer of 32 P between host and parasite. Importantly, the relative lack of severe or lethal negative effects on L. myrsinoides (compared with invasive species) (Prider et al 2009;Cirocco et al 2015) occurs in spite of the fully developed anatomical connections we documented. This suggests that there is a range of defence mechanisms amongst hosts of C. pubescens.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 77%

“…Our results allow us to rule out the first alternative. Cirocco et al (2015) proposed that the ability of L. myrsinoides to maintain photoprotective capacity/engagement when infected by C. pubescens, thereby preventing photodamage, could explain this host's tolerance. Its adaptations to low availability of water and nutrients, characteristic of plants in the sclerophyll woodlands of South Australia which contrast with the higher resource requirements of invasive species, may also contribute to its higher tolerance to reduction in resources produced by the parasite (Li et al 2012).…”

Section: Growth Of C Pubescens On a Myrtifoliamentioning

confidence: 99%

Defence responses of native and invasive plants to the native generalist vine parasite Cassytha pubescens – anatomical and functional studies

et al. 2020

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We investigated the responses of two invasive and two native host species to the parasitic vine Cassytha pubescens R.Br. using glasshouse experiments. We assessed growth of the parasite and its hosts, and anatomy and functionality of haustoria. Target hosts were infected using C. pubescens already established on a donor host. This enabled measurement of growth in target hosts that were detached (parasite connection severed) or not from the donor host. Haustorial connections to hosts were investigated using histological methods. We tested the functionality of haustoria in one invasive and one native host using radiolabelled phosphorus (32P). After it was severed from the donor host, C. pubescens grew poorly on the native host, Acacia myrtifolia (Sm.)Willd. This was likely due to a lack of effective functional haustorial development because although haustoria were firmly attached and morphologically alike those formed on the other hosts, their anatomy was different: their connections with the vascular system were not developed and there was no transfer of 32P from A. myrtifolia to the parasite. In contrast, the other three host species supported the growth of the parasite and had fully developed haustoria. Effective transfer of 32P from the invasive host to the parasite confirmed this. Our results suggest a range of defence mechanisms in C. pubescens hosts and are consistent with reports of strong detrimental effects on invasive hosts. Further, they amount to evidence for the potential use of a native parasite as biological control for invasive species.

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Native hemiparasite and light effects on photoprotection and photodamage in a native host

Cited by 12 publications

References 62 publications

Suppressing competitive dominants and community restoration with native parasitic plants using the hemiparasitic Rhinanthus alectorolophus and the dominant grass Calamagrostis epigejos

Suppressing competitive dominants and community restoration with native parasitic plants using the hemiparasitic Rhinanthus alectorolophus and the dominant grass Calamagrostis epigejos

High tolerance of repeated heatwaves in Australian native plants

Defence responses of native and invasive plants to the native generalist vine parasite Cassytha pubescens – anatomical and functional studies

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