Associational resistance and neighbor recognition of in common dandelion roots

Obiettivo

Plants are able to recognize the chemical cues from neighbors and modulate their investment into growth and defense accordingly. While the effects and mechanisms of neighbor recognition on above ground plant-herbivore interactions have been studied extensively, they have rarely been investigated below ground, despite the importance of root herbivores and root-root signaling. The key objectives of DARES are 1) to investigate how does the presence of conspecific and heterospecific neighbors affects the root metabolism and defenses of Taraxacum officinale and its resistance against its main natural enemy, the white grub Melolontha melolotha, 2) to identify the type of chemical information that T. officinale uses to recognize neighbors (above ground volatiles, below ground volatiles or root exudates), and 3) to identify the chemical compounds from neighboring plants that T. officinale responds to. The results of DARES will allow me to assess the importance of associational resistance for below ground interactions. Furthermore, the gained knowledge will help to employ plant-based control strategies of T. officinale as a weed and M. melolontha as a grassland pest.