Tomato is one of the most important vegetable crop species in the world. A total of 17 wild tomato species have been described and the genetic resources of many of these species are explored in plant breeding. Despite the enormous economic value of wild tomato species, little is known about their natural history and ecology in the native habitats in the Andean region of South America. Here we investigate ecological consequences of herbivore-induced resistance in the wild tomato species Solanum peruvianum native to the Pacific slope of the Peruvian Andes.
Results/Conclusions
Plants attacked by herbivores become not only more resistant to subsequent herbivore damage but also less attractive to mutualistic pollinators. The herbivory-induced change in pollinator behavior causes significant reductions in seed set of damaged S. peruvianum. Field choice experiments and the analysis of volatile organic compounds collected from flowers and leaves of damaged and undamaged plants revealed that pollinators use olfactory cues to differentiate between flowers of damaged and undamaged plants. We discuss the herbivore-induced pollinator limitation as a cost of plant induced responses to herbivory.
