<i>Scaptomyza nigrita</i> herbivory and inducible glucosinolates in <i>Cardamine cordifolia</i>

Abstract

Brassicaceae plants, such as bittercress (Cardamine cordifolia) produce characteristic glucosinolates, which are secondary metabolites used as defense compounds to deter pathogens and insect herbivores, such as the leaf mining fly (Scaptomyza nigrita). These compounds are produced constitutively and are also inducible. Although induced defense is well studied in other mustards, little work has been done on C. cordifolia defense. In this study, I quantified induced glucosinolate production caused by S. nigrita attack using HPLC. I expected that attack by S. nigrita would induce C. cordifolia to produce glucosinolates at higher concentrations. In addition, I expected that the local response would be more robust than the systemic response because glucosinolates are costly for the plant to produce (van Dam and Raaijmakers 2005). Also, given the geographic mosaic model of co-evolution, I expected variation in the response between plants from different geographic locations (Thompson 1988). Also, percent leaf area mined was found to be a proxy for larval weight gain.

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