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Why do insects like to eat some plants more than others?
11-13-2006 · EurekAlert!Plant-insect ecologists typically attribute the differences to variation in the nutritional quality or defective chemistry of plant tissues. However, the researchers found that cactus-feeding insects chose host plants based on how the plants allocated resources between growth and reproduction.
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Keywords: insects, eat, plants, insect, plant
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12-20-2007 · EurekAlert!
Plant leaves and surfaces are teeming with microbial life, yet the insects that feed on plants lack adaptive immune systems to fend off any intruding microorganisms they eat along with their greens. Now research published in the online open access journal, BMC Biology shows how food-borne bacteria affect an insect's immune system.
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07-06-2007 · EurekAlert!
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- Genetic differences in clover make one type toxic
10-01-2007 · EurekAlert!
That clover necklace you make for your child could well be a ring of poison. That's because some clovers have evolved genes that help the plant produce cyanide - to protect itself against little herbivores, such as snails, slugs and voles, that eat clover. Other clover plants that do not make cyanide are found in climates with colder temperatures. Kenneth Olsen, Ph.D., Washington University biologist is looking at the genetics behind this polymorphism.
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11-20-2006 · EurekAlert!
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10-04-2007 · EurekAlert!
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- Plants tag insect herbivores with an alarm
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Rooted in place, plants can't run from herbivores -- but they can fight back. Sensing attack, plants frequently generate toxins, emit volatile chemicals to attract the pest's natural enemies, or launch other defensive tactics. Now, for the first time, researchers reporting in the June 2007 issue of Plant Physiology have identified a specific class of small peptide elicitors, or plant defense signals, that help plants react to insect attack.
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