以天然禾草羽茅为试验材料,外源喷施茉莉酮酸甲酯(MJ)模拟食草昆虫的采食,研究感染内生真菌(染菌)和不染菌羽茅生长及生理等方面的差异.结果表明:MJ处理显著降低了羽茅地上部分生长,显著提高了其防御物质总酚和木质素的含量,并降低了蚜虫种群数量.染菌能显著增加羽茅的分蘖数及地上总酚和木质素的含量,但地上生物量和地下总酚含量受到MJ处理的影响,在不喷施MJ的对照中,染菌与否对羽茅的地上部生物量及地下总酚含量无显著影响,而MJ处理下,染菌植株的地上生物量显著低于不染菌植株,而地下总酚含量显著高于不染菌植株.染菌能显著降低羽茅上蚜虫的种群数量,而且这一影响被MJ处理所促进,当受到3次MJ喷施处理后,染菌羽茅上不再有蚜虫.表明内生真菌感染能够改变宿主植物在生长和防御之间的物质分配,MJ处理则进一步促进染菌植株以牺牲生长为代价而提高其防御能力.
We used Achnatherum sibiricum, a native grass as test material and application of methyl jasmonate (M J) to simulate herbivory, and compared the growth and physiological characters of en- dophyte-infected (EI) and endophyte-free (EF) plants. The results showed that MJ treatment sig- nificantly decreased the shoot growth, but significantly increased the concentrations of defensive substances such as total phenolic and lignin, and decreased the size of aphid population. Endophyte infection significantly increased the tiller number, total phenolic and lignin contents in the shoot. As for shoot biomass and total phenolic in the root, they were affected by MJ treatment. Without MJ treatment, no significant differences were found in shoot biomass or root phenolic content whether the plants were infected by endophyte or not. With MJ treatment, the shoot biomass was significantly lower and the shoot phenolic content was significantly higher in EI plants than in EF plants. Endo- phyte infection significantly increased resistance of the host plant to aphids, and the beneficial effect was enhanced by MJ treatments, after three applications with MJ, there were no aphids on EI plants. Overall, endophyte infection could alter the allocation pattern of the host plant between growth and defense, and MJ treatments further strengthened the defensive ability of the host plant at the cost of growth.