Plants engineered to always be on alert don’t grow well
Scientists bred a weed to lack proteins that help stem production of insect-repelling chemicals
A tiny weed that slithers up through sidewalk cracks is helping scientists understand the sacrifices that plants make to protect themselves from pests.
Most plants combat insects and other herbivores by sending out bitter chemicals through their leaves. Now by studying thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), a commonly found member of the mustard family, researchers found that energy spent pumping protective chemicals through a plant’s veins diminishes its ability to grow and successfully reproduce.
“When plants use those resources for defense — in this case, defense against insects — there is a major trade-off,” says Gregg Howe, a plant biologist at Michigan State University in East Lansing. He and his colleagues report their findings online October 22 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.