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From Genes to Ecosystems: The Genetic Basis of Condensed Tannins and Their Role in Nutrient Regulation in a Populus Model System

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Abstract

Research that connects ecosystem processes to genetic mechanisms has recently gained significant ground, yet actual studies that span the levels of organization from genes to ecosystems are extraordinarily rare. Utilizing foundation species from the genus Populus, in which the role of condensed tannins (CT) has been investigated aboveground, belowground, and in adjacent streams, we examine the diverse mechanisms for the expression of CT and the ecological consequences of CT for forests and streams. The wealth of data from this genus highlights the importance of form and function of CT in large-scale and long-term ecosystem processes and demonstrates the following four patterns: (1) plant-specific concentration of CT varies as much as fourfold among species and individual genotypes; (2) large within-plant variation in CT occurs due to ontogenetic stages (that is, juvenile and mature), tissue types (that is, leaves versus twigs) and phenotypic plasticity in response to the environment; (3) CT have little consistent effect on plant–herbivore interactions, excepting organisms utilizing woody tissues (that is, fungal endophytes and beaver), however; (4) CT in plants consistently slow rates of leaf litter decomposition (aquatic and terrestrial), alter the composition of heterotrophic soil communities (and some aquatic communities) and reduce nutrient availability in terrestrial ecosystems. Taken together, these data suggest that CT may play an underappreciated adaptive role in regulating nutrient dynamics in ecosystems. These results also demonstrate that a holistic perspective from genes-to-ecosystems is a powerful approach for elucidating complex ecological interactions and their evolutionary implications.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the extended Whitham, Lindroth, Hagerman, Hart and Keim lab groups for their support and feedback on these ongoing studies. Support was provided for various aspects of these projects from the U.S. National Science Foundation, including the Integrated Research Challenges in Environmental Biology and Frontiers in Integrated Biological Research programs (DEB-0078280, DEB-0425908) as well as NSF grants DEB-9707263, DEB-0074427, DEB-0344019, DEB-0743437, REU-DBI-0353915 and the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, cooperative agreement 58-1932-6-634. We also thank the Ogden Nature Center and the Utah Department of Natural Resources for their support of our common garden studies, which have been crucial for separating the genetic and environmental effects of CT production.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Tennessee, 569 Dabney Hall, Knoxville, Tennessee, 37996, USA

    Jennifer A. Schweitzer & Joseph K. Bailey

  2. Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin, USA

    Michael D. Madritch & Richard L. Lindroth

  3. Evergreen State College, Olympia, Washington, USA

    Carri J. LeRoy & Dylan G. Fischer

  4. Department of Chemistry, U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, Maryland, USA

    Brian J. Rehill

  5. Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, USA

    Ann E. Hagerman

  6. Department of Biological Sciences, California State University, Stanislaus, Turlock, California, USA

    Stuart C. Wooley

  7. School of Forestry and Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

    Stephen C. Hart

  8. Department of Biological Sciences and Merriam-Powell Center for Environmental Research, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, Arizona, USA

    Thomas G. Whitham

Authors
  1. Jennifer A. Schweitzer
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  2. Michael D. Madritch
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  3. Joseph K. Bailey
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  4. Carri J. LeRoy
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  5. Dylan G. Fischer
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  6. Brian J. Rehill
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  7. Richard L. Lindroth
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  8. Ann E. Hagerman
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  9. Stuart C. Wooley
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  10. Stephen C. Hart
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  11. Thomas G. Whitham
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jennifer A. Schweitzer.

Additional information

All authors made significant contributions of data, research or writing to the study described in this review.

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Schweitzer, J.A., Madritch, M.D., Bailey, J.K. et al. From Genes to Ecosystems: The Genetic Basis of Condensed Tannins and Their Role in Nutrient Regulation in a Populus Model System. Ecosystems 11, 1005–1020 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-008-9173-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-008-9173-9

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