ERROR 1
ERROR 1
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
ERROR 2
Password and Confirm password must match.
If you have an ACS member number, please enter it here so we can link this account to your membership. (optional)
ERROR 2
ACS values your privacy. By submitting your information, you are gaining access to C&EN and subscribing to our weekly newsletter. We use the information you provide to make your reading experience better, and we will never sell your data to third party members.
Sun-loving plants apparently put more emphasis on protecting themselves from the encroachment of neighboring plants than from herbivores, according to researchers at the University of Buenos Aires and Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, to be published online, dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0509805103). A plant can sense the attack of an herbivore or the advance of competing vegetation that could block sunlight. The plant responds by ramping up its defenses, for instance by increasing the production of unpalatable compounds to fend off an herbivore or by altering the angle of its leaves to catch more sun. What happens when a plant faces both types of threats at the same time? Carlos L. Ballaré and colleagues report that a plant's ability to defend itself from an herbivore is significantly impaired when the plant is also threatened by encroaching vegetation. This information could be used to develop crop varieties that would better withstand hungry insects despite crowded planting conditions.
Join the conversation
Contact the reporter
Submit a Letter to the Editor for publication
Engage with us on Twitter