Author:
Gianoli Ernesto,González-Teuber Marcia,Vilo Claudia,Guevara-Araya María J.,Escobedo Víctor M.
Abstract
AbstractThe mechanisms behind the unique capacity of the vine Boquila trifoliolata to mimic the leaves of several tree species remain unknown. A hypothesis in the original leaf mimicry report considered that microbial vectors from trees could carry genes or epigenetic factors that would alter the expression of leaf traits in Boquila. Here we evaluated whether leaf endophytic bacterial communities are associated with the mimicry pattern. Using 16S rRNA gene sequencing, we compared the endophytic bacterial communities in three groups of leaves collected in a temperate rainforest: (1) leaves from the model tree Rhaphithamnus spinosus (RS), (2) Boquila leaves mimicking the tree leaves (BR), and (3) Boquila leaves from the same individual vine but not mimicking the tree leaves (BT). We hypothesized that bacterial communities would be more similar in the BR–RS comparison than in the BT–RS comparison. We found significant differences in the endophytic bacterial communities among the three groups, verifying the hypothesis. Whereas non-mimetic Boquila leaves and tree leaves (BT–RS) showed clearly different bacterial communities, mimetic Boquila leaves and tree leaves (BR–RS) showed an overlap concerning their bacterial communities. The role of bacteria in this unique case of leaf mimicry should be studied further.
Funder
Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico
Max Planck Partner Group
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Reference56 articles.
1. Wiens, D. Mimicry in plants. Evol. Biol. 11, 365–403 (1978).
2. Pasteur, G. A classificatory review of mimicry systems. Annu. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 13, 169–199 (1982).
3. Barrett, S. C. H. Mimicry in plants. Sci. Am. 257, 76–85 (1987).
4. Barlow, B. A. & Wiens, D. Host-parasite resemblance in Australian mistletoes: The case for cryptic mimicry. Evolution 31, 69–84 (1977).
5. Ehleringer, J. R. et al. Mistletoes: A hypothesis concerning morphological and chemical avoidance of herbivory. Oecologia 70, 234–237 (1986).
Cited by
1 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献