Tannins in Baccharis dracunculifolia (Asteraceae): effects of seasonality, water availability and plant sex

Espírito-Santo, Mário M; Fernandes, G. Wilson; Allain, Luciana R; Reis, Ticiana R. F

doi:10.1590/S0102-33061999000200006

Abstracts

Several ecological, genetic, and environmental factors are known to influence tannin concentration in plant tissues. In this study, the effects of seasonality, water availability, and sex of the plant on tannin concentration in the dioecious shrub Baccharis dracunculifolia were assessed. The effects of water availability on plant shoot growth and its relationship to tannin concentration were also experimentally evaluated. Tannins occurred in B. dracunculifolia from November to May, peaking during the summer (December to March). However, no relationship between tannin concentration, rainfall and temperature was found. No difference in tannin concentration and shoot growth was found between plants in the irrigated and control treatments, this suggesting that tannin production was affected by factors other than water availability, such as light intensity or plant phenology. There was a negative relationship between tannin concentration and shoot growth, possibly due to a trade-off between these metabolic activities. Plant gender did not influence tannin concentration and shoot growth, indicating that B. dracunculifolia did not show a differential resource allocation between male and female individuals.

tannins; Baccharis dracunculifolia; irrigation; gender; phenology

Vários fatores ecológicos, genéticos e ambientais podem influenciar a concentração de taninos em tecidos de uma planta. Neste estudo, os efeitos da sazonalidade, disponibilidade de água e sexo da planta sobre a concentração de taninos no arbusto dióico Baccharis dracunculifolia foram avaliados. Também foram verificados os efeitos da disponibilidade de água sobre o crescimento de ramos da planta e a relação com a concentração de taninos. Os indivíduos de B. dracunculifolia produziram taninos de novembro a maio, apresentando maiores concentrações durante o verão (dezembro a março). Entretanto, não foram encontradas relações entre a concentração de taninos e a precipitação e a temperatura, assim como também não foram observadas diferenças na concentração de taninos e crescimento de ramos entre plantas irrigadas e controle, sugerindo que a produção dessas substâncias seja afetada por outros fatores, como intensidade de luz ou fenologia da planta. Houve relação negativa entre a concentração de taninos e o crescimento de ramos, possivelmente em virtude de um "trade-off' entre estas atividades metabólicas. Não foram observadas diferenças intersexuais na concentração de taninos e crescimento de ramos, indicando que B. dracunculifolia não apresenta distribuição diferencial de recursos entre indivíduos masculinos e femininos.

taninos; Baccharis dracunculifolia; irrigação; sexo; fenologia

Tannins in Baccharis dracunculifolia (Asteraceae): effects of seasonality, water availability and plant sex

Taninos em Baccharis dracunculifolia (Asteraceae): efeitos da sazonalidade, disponibilidade de água e sexo da planta

Mário M. Espírito-Santo; G. Wilson Fernandes; Luciana R. Allain; Ticiana R. F. Reis

Laboratório de Ecologia Evolutiva de Herbívoros Tropicais, ICB, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, C. Postal 486, CEP 30161-970, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil

ABSTRACT

Several ecological, genetic, and environmental factors are known to influence tannin concentration in plant tissues. In this study, the effects of seasonality, water availability, and sex of the plant on tannin concentration in the dioecious shrub Baccharis dracunculifolia were assessed. The effects of water availability on plant shoot growth and its relationship to tannin concentration were also experimentally evaluated. Tannins occurred in B. dracunculifolia from November to May, peaking during the summer (December to March). However, no relationship between tannin concentration, rainfall and temperature was found. No difference in tannin concentration and shoot growth was found between plants in the irrigated and control treatments, this suggesting that tannin production was affected by factors other than water availability, such as light intensity or plant phenology. There was a negative relationship between tannin concentration and shoot growth, possibly due to a trade-off between these metabolic activities. Plant gender did not influence tannin concentration and shoot growth, indicating that B. dracunculifolia did not show a differential resource allocation between male and female individuals.

Key words: tannins, Baccharis dracunculifolia, irrigation, gender, phenology

RESUMO

Vários fatores ecológicos, genéticos e ambientais podem influenciar a concentração de taninos em tecidos de uma planta. Neste estudo, os efeitos da sazonalidade, disponibilidade de água e sexo da planta sobre a concentração de taninos no arbusto dióico Baccharis dracunculifolia foram avaliados. Também foram verificados os efeitos da disponibilidade de água sobre o crescimento de ramos da planta e a relação com a concentração de taninos. Os indivíduos de B. dracunculifolia produziram taninos de novembro a maio, apresentando maiores concentrações durante o verão (dezembro a março). Entretanto, não foram encontradas relações entre a concentração de taninos e a precipitação e a temperatura, assim como também não foram observadas diferenças na concentração de taninos e crescimento de ramos entre plantas irrigadas e controle, sugerindo que a produção dessas substâncias seja afetada por outros fatores, como intensidade de luz ou fenologia da planta. Houve relação negativa entre a concentração de taninos e o crescimento de ramos, possivelmente em virtude de um "trade-off' entre estas atividades metabólicas. Não foram observadas diferenças intersexuais na concentração de taninos e crescimento de ramos, indicando que B. dracunculifolia não apresenta distribuição diferencial de recursos entre indivíduos masculinos e femininos.

Palavras-chave: taninos, Baccharis dracunculifolia, irrigação, sexo, fenologia

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Acknowledgments

We are very grateful to SJG Alvim, ESA Marques, and two anonymous reviewers for their critical comments on the early versions of this manuscript. The Pampulha Airport provided the climatic data used in this study. This project was supported by CNPq, FAPEMIG and IFS.

Recebido em 29/12/1998.

Aceito em 18/05/1999

Ahman, I. 1997. Growth, herbivory and disease in relation to gender in Salix viminalis L. Oecologia 111: 61-68.
Araújo, A. M.; Fernandes, G. W. & Bedê, L. C. 1995. Influência do sexo e fenologia de Baccharis dracunculifolia DC. (Asteraceae) sobre insetos herbívoros. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 39: 347-353.
Bryant, J. P.; Chapin III, F. S. & Klein, D. R. 1983. Carbon/nutrient balance of boreal plants in relation to vertebrate herbivory. Oikos 40: 357-368.
Coley, P. D. & Barone, J. A. 1996. Herbivory and plant defenses in tropical forests. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 27: 305-335.
Corcoran, M. R.; Geissman, T. A. & Phinney, B. O. 1972. Tannins as gibberellin antagonists. Plant Physiology 49: 323-330.
Esau, K. 1959. Anatomia Vegetal. Omega, Barcelona.
Espírito-Santo, M. M. & Fernandes, G. W. 1998. Abundance of Neopelma baccharidis (Homoptera: Psyllidae) galls on the dioecious shrub Baccharis dracunculifolia (Asteraceae). Environmental Entomology 27: 870-876.
Faeth, S. H. 1992. Do defoliation and subsequent phytochemical responses reduce future herbivory on oak trees? Journal of Chemical Ecology 18: 915-925.
Fahn, A. 1990. Plant Anatomy. Pergamon, Oxford.
Feeny, P. P. 1970. Seasonal changes in oak leaf tannins and nutrients as a cause of spring feeding by winter moth caterpillars. Ecology 51: 565-581.
Ferrari, J. M. 1977. Vegetação do câmpus da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Oréades 6: 3-5.
Gershenzon, J. 1984. Changes in the level of plant secondary metabolites under water and nutrient stress. Recent Advances in Phytochemistry 18: 273-320.
Hagerman, A. E. 1987. Radial diffusion method for determining tannin in plant extracts. Journal of Chemical Ecology 13: 437-449.
Herms, D. A. & Mattson, W. J. 1992. The dilemma of plants: to grow or defend. The Quarterly Review of Biology 67: 283-352.
Horner, J. D. 1990. Nonlinear effects of water deficits on foliar tannin concentration. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 18: 211-213.
Jing, S. W. & Coley, P. D. 1990. Dioecy and herbivory: the effect of growth rate on plant defense in Acer negundo. Oikos 58: 369-377.
Jonasson, S.; Bryant, J. P.; Chapin, F. S. & Anderson, M. 1986. Plant phenols and nutrients in relation to variations in climate and rodent grazing. American Naturalist 128: 394-408.
Kearsley, M. J. C. & Whitham, T. G. 1989. Developmental changes in resistance to herbivory: implications for individuals and populations. Ecology 70: 422-434.
Krischik, V. A. & Denno, R. F. 1990. Patterns of growth, reproduction, defense and herbivore in the dioecious shrub Baccharis halimifolia (Compositae). Oecologia 83: 182-190.
Louda, S. M. & Collinge, S. K. 1992. Plant resistance to insect herbivores: a field test of the environmental stress hypothesis. Ecology 73: 153-169.
McCrea, K. D. & Abrahamson, W. G. 1987. Variation in herbivore infestation: historical vs. genetic factors. Ecology 68: 822-827.
Mole, S.; Ross, J. A. M. & Waterman, P. G. 1988. Light-induced variation in phenolic levels in foliage of rainforest plants. I. Chemical changes. Journal of Chemical Ecology 14: 1-21.
Moran, N. 1981. Intraspecific variability in herbivore performance and host quality: a field study of Uroleucon caligatum (Homoptera: Aphididae) and its Solidago hosts (Asteraceae). Ecological Entomology 6: 301-306.
Rhoades, D. F. & Cates, R. G. 1976. Toward a general theory of plant antiherbivory chemistry. Recent Advances in Phytochemistry 10: 168-213.
Ricklefs, R. E. 1990. Ecology. W. H. Freeman & Company, New York.
Rozema, J.; van de Staaij, J.; Björn, L. O. & Caldwell, M. 1997. UV-B as an environmental factor in plant life: stress and regulation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 12: 22-28.
Sagers, C. L. & Coley, R D. 1995. Benefits and costs of defense in a neotropical shrub. Ecology 76: 1835-1843.
Salatino, A.; Kraus, J. E. & Salatino, M. L. F. 1993. Contents of tannins and their histological localization in young and adult parts of Struthanthus vulgaris Mart. (Loranthaceae). Annals of Botany 72: 409-414.
Shure, D. J.; Mooreside, P. D. & Ogle, S. M. 1998. Rainfall effects on plant-herbivore processes in an upland oak forest. Ecology 79: 604-617.
Swain, T. 1979. Tannins and lignins. Pp 557-682. In: G. A. Rosenthal & D. H. Janzen (Eds.), Herbivores: their interactions with secondary plant metabolites. Plenum, New York.
Zar, J. H. 1996. Biostatistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
26 May 2011
Date of issue
Aug 1999

History

Accepted
18 May 1999
Received
29 Dec 1998

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

[1] Ahman, I. 1997. Growth, herbivory and disease in relation to gender in Salix viminalis L. Oecologia 111: 61-68.

[2] Araújo, A. M.; Fernandes, G. W. & Bedê, L. C. 1995. Influência do sexo e fenologia de Baccharis dracunculifolia DC. (Asteraceae) sobre insetos herbívoros. Revista Brasileira de Entomologia 39: 347-353.

[3] Bryant, J. P.; Chapin III, F. S. & Klein, D. R. 1983. Carbon/nutrient balance of boreal plants in relation to vertebrate herbivory. Oikos 40: 357-368.

[4] Coley, P. D. & Barone, J. A. 1996. Herbivory and plant defenses in tropical forests. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 27: 305-335.

[5] Corcoran, M. R.; Geissman, T. A. & Phinney, B. O. 1972. Tannins as gibberellin antagonists. Plant Physiology 49: 323-330.

[6] Esau, K. 1959. Anatomia Vegetal. Omega, Barcelona.

[7] Espírito-Santo, M. M. & Fernandes, G. W. 1998. Abundance of Neopelma baccharidis (Homoptera: Psyllidae) galls on the dioecious shrub Baccharis dracunculifolia (Asteraceae). Environmental Entomology 27: 870-876.

[8] Faeth, S. H. 1992. Do defoliation and subsequent phytochemical responses reduce future herbivory on oak trees? Journal of Chemical Ecology 18: 915-925.

[9] Fahn, A. 1990. Plant Anatomy. Pergamon, Oxford.

[10] Feeny, P. P. 1970. Seasonal changes in oak leaf tannins and nutrients as a cause of spring feeding by winter moth caterpillars. Ecology 51: 565-581.

[11] Ferrari, J. M. 1977. Vegetação do câmpus da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Oréades 6: 3-5.

[12] Gershenzon, J. 1984. Changes in the level of plant secondary metabolites under water and nutrient stress. Recent Advances in Phytochemistry 18: 273-320.

[13] Hagerman, A. E. 1987. Radial diffusion method for determining tannin in plant extracts. Journal of Chemical Ecology 13: 437-449.

[14] Herms, D. A. & Mattson, W. J. 1992. The dilemma of plants: to grow or defend. The Quarterly Review of Biology 67: 283-352.

[15] Horner, J. D. 1990. Nonlinear effects of water deficits on foliar tannin concentration. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 18: 211-213.

[16] Jing, S. W. & Coley, P. D. 1990. Dioecy and herbivory: the effect of growth rate on plant defense in Acer negundo. Oikos 58: 369-377.

[17] Jonasson, S.; Bryant, J. P.; Chapin, F. S. & Anderson, M. 1986. Plant phenols and nutrients in relation to variations in climate and rodent grazing. American Naturalist 128: 394-408.

[18] Kearsley, M. J. C. & Whitham, T. G. 1989. Developmental changes in resistance to herbivory: implications for individuals and populations. Ecology 70: 422-434.

[19] Krischik, V. A. & Denno, R. F. 1990. Patterns of growth, reproduction, defense and herbivore in the dioecious shrub Baccharis halimifolia (Compositae). Oecologia 83: 182-190.

[20] Louda, S. M. & Collinge, S. K. 1992. Plant resistance to insect herbivores: a field test of the environmental stress hypothesis. Ecology 73: 153-169.

[21] McCrea, K. D. & Abrahamson, W. G. 1987. Variation in herbivore infestation: historical vs. genetic factors. Ecology 68: 822-827.

[22] Mole, S.; Ross, J. A. M. & Waterman, P. G. 1988. Light-induced variation in phenolic levels in foliage of rainforest plants. I. Chemical changes. Journal of Chemical Ecology 14: 1-21.

[23] Moran, N. 1981. Intraspecific variability in herbivore performance and host quality: a field study of Uroleucon caligatum (Homoptera: Aphididae) and its Solidago hosts (Asteraceae). Ecological Entomology 6: 301-306.

[24] Rhoades, D. F. & Cates, R. G. 1976. Toward a general theory of plant antiherbivory chemistry. Recent Advances in Phytochemistry 10: 168-213.

[25] Ricklefs, R. E. 1990. Ecology. W. H. Freeman & Company, New York.

[26] Rozema, J.; van de Staaij, J.; Björn, L. O. & Caldwell, M. 1997. UV-B as an environmental factor in plant life: stress and regulation. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 12: 22-28.

[27] Sagers, C. L. & Coley, R D. 1995. Benefits and costs of defense in a neotropical shrub. Ecology 76: 1835-1843.

[28] Salatino, A.; Kraus, J. E. & Salatino, M. L. F. 1993. Contents of tannins and their histological localization in young and adult parts of Struthanthus vulgaris Mart. (Loranthaceae). Annals of Botany 72: 409-414.

[29] Shure, D. J.; Mooreside, P. D. & Ogle, S. M. 1998. Rainfall effects on plant-herbivore processes in an upland oak forest. Ecology 79: 604-617.

[30] Swain, T. 1979. Tannins and lignins. Pp 557-682. In: G. A. Rosenthal & D. H. Janzen (Eds.), Herbivores: their interactions with secondary plant metabolites. Plenum, New York.

[31] Zar, J. H. 1996. Biostatistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.