Abstract
Knowing how hosts respond to parasite infection is paramount in understanding the effects of parasites on host populations and hence host-parasite co-evolution. Modification of life-history traits in response to parasitism has received less attention than other defence strategies. Life-history theory predicts that parasitised hosts will increase reproductive effort and accelerate reproduction. However, empirical analyses of these predictions are few and mostly limited to animal-parasite systems. We have analysed life-history trait responses in 18 accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana infected at two different developmental stages with three strains of Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV). Accessions were divided into two groups according to allometric relationships; these groups differed also in their tolerance to CMV infection. Life-history trait modification upon virus infection depended on the host genotype and the stage at infection. While all accessions delayed flowering, only the more tolerant allometric group modified resource allocation to increase the production of reproductive structures and progeny, and reduced the length of reproductive period. Our results are in agreement with modifications of life-history traits reported for parasitised animals and with predictions from life-history theory. Thus, we provide empirical support for the general validity of theoretical predictions. In addition, this experimental approach allowed us to quantitatively estimate the genetic determinism of life-history trait plasticity and to evaluate the role of life-history trait modification in defence against parasites, two largely unexplored issues.
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Claims 5
Claim · model-written summary
Allometric accession groups differed in tolerance to CMV.
- Taxon
- Arabidopsis thaliana
Arabidopsis thalianae1 - Material
- Accessionse0
- Interactor
- CMV
cucumber mosaic cucumoviruse0pathogen - Outcome
- tolerance to CMV infectione0
- Direction
- differede0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Accessions were divided into two groups according to allometric relationships; these groups differed also in their tolerance to CMV infection”
e1“Arabidopsis thaliana”
Claim · model-written summary
Life-history responses to infection depended on genotype and stage at infection.
- Taxon
- Arabidopsis thalianaArabidopsis thalianae1
- Material
- host genotypee0
- Organ / stage
- stage at infectione0
- Interactor
- Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)cucumber mosaic cucumoviruse2pathogen
- Outcome
- Life-history trait modificatione0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Life-history trait modification upon virus infection depended on the host genotype and the stage at infection”
e1“Arabidopsis thaliana”
e2“Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)”
Claim · model-written summary
All infected accessions delayed flowering.
- Taxon
- Arabidopsis thalianaArabidopsis thalianae1
- Treatment
- virus infectione3
- Interactor
- Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)cucumber mosaic cucumoviruse2pathogen
- Outcome
- floweringe0
- Direction
- delayede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“While all accessions delayed flowering”
e1“Arabidopsis thaliana”
e2“Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)”
e3“Life-history trait modification upon virus infection depended on the host genotype and the stage at infection”
Claim · model-written summary
The more tolerant group increased reproductive structures and progeny following infection.
- Taxon
- Arabidopsis thalianaArabidopsis thalianae1
- Material
- more tolerant allometric groupe0
- Treatment
- virus infectione3
- Interactor
- Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)cucumber mosaic cucumoviruse2pathogen
- Outcome
- production of reproductive structures and progenye0
- Direction
- increasee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“only the more tolerant allometric group modified resource allocation to increase the production of reproductive structures and progeny”
e1“Arabidopsis thaliana”
e2“Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)”
e3“Life-history trait modification upon virus infection depended on the host genotype and the stage at infection”
Claim · model-written summary
The more tolerant group shortened its reproductive period following infection.
- Taxon
- Arabidopsis thalianaArabidopsis thalianae1
- Material
- more tolerant allometric groupe0
- Treatment
- virus infectione3
- Interactor
- Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)cucumber mosaic cucumoviruse2pathogen
- Outcome
- length of reproductive periode0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“only the more tolerant allometric group modified resource allocation to increase the production of reproductive structures and progeny, and reduced the length of reproductive period”
e1“Arabidopsis thaliana”
e2“Cucumber mosaic virus (CMV)”
e3“Life-history trait modification upon virus infection depended on the host genotype and the stage at infection”
The same questions in other papers
infection · cucumber mosaic cucumovirus · Arabidopsis thaliana (thale cress)Positive and negative results
4 papers in the same direction as this paper · 3 in the opposite direction
- negative
- positive
- no effect
4 papers more in this group
See all 8 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.