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Differential Allocation of Seed-Borne Ergot Alkaloids During Early Ontogeny of Morning Glories (Convolvulaceae)

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Abstract

Ergot alkaloids are mycotoxins that can increase host plant resistance to above- and below-ground herbivores. Some morning glories (Convolvulaceae) are infected by clavicipitaceous fungi (Periglandula spp.) that produce high concentrations of ergot alkaloids in seeds—up to 1000-fold greater than endophyte-infected grasses. Here, we evaluated the diversity and distribution of alkaloids in seeds and seedlings and variation in alkaloid distribution among species. We treated half the plants with fungicide to differentiate seed-borne alkaloids from alkaloids produced de novo post-germination and sampled seedling tissues at the cotyledon and first-leaf stages. Seed-borne alkaloids in Ipomoea amnicola, I. argillicola, and I. hildebrandtii remained primarily in the cotyledons, whereas I. tricolor allocated lysergic acid amides to the roots while retaining clavines in the cotyledons. In I. hildebrandtii, almost all festuclavine was found in the cotyledons. These observations suggest differential allocation of individual alkaloids. Intraspecific patterns of alkaloid distribution did not vary between fungicide-treated and control seedlings. Each species contained four to six unique ergot alkaloids and two species had the ergopeptine ergobalansine. De novo production of alkaloids did not begin immediately, as total alkaloids in fungicide-treated and control seedlings did not differ through the first-leaf stage, except in I. argillicola. In an extended time-course experiment with I. tricolor, de novo production was detected after the first-leaf stage. Our results demonstrate that allocation of seed-borne ergot alkaloids varies among species and tissues but is not altered by fungicide treatment. This variation may reflect a response to selection for defense against natural enemies.

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Acknowledgments

W.T.B. acknowledges funding from an Anne S. Chatham Fellowship in Medicinal Botany from the Garden Club of America and useful discussions with Chunfeng Huang (Indiana University Department of Statistics) as well as Stephanie Dickinson and Xuefu Wang (Indiana Statistical Consulting Center). C.S.H. was supported by National Science Foundation grant DBI-0849917. Additional funding was provided by United States Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant 2012-67013-19384 to D.G.P. We thank the greenhouse staffs of Indiana University and West Virginia University as well as Christopher T. Moore for technical support. This article is published with permission of the West Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Experiment Station as scientific article number (3173).

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  1. Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA

    Wesley T. Beaulieu, Michelle C. Mckee & Keith Clay

  2. Division of Plant & Soil Sciences, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV, USA

    Daniel G. Panaccione, Corey S. Hazekamp & Katy L. Ryan

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  1. Wesley T. Beaulieu
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Correspondence to Wesley T. Beaulieu.

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Beaulieu, W.T., Panaccione, D.G., Hazekamp, C.S. et al. Differential Allocation of Seed-Borne Ergot Alkaloids During Early Ontogeny of Morning Glories (Convolvulaceae). J Chem Ecol 39, 919–930 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-013-0314-z

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