Chemical defense production inLotus corniculatusL. I. The effects of nitrogen source on growth, reproduction and defense

✍ Scribed by Michelle A. Briggs

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1990
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 582 KB
• Volume: 83
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0029-8549
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00324629

✦ Synopsis

The carbon to nitrogen balance theory was examined for a legume, Lotus corniculatus L., which allocates carbon to nitrogen fixation. N-fixation can influence the ratio of carbon to nitrogen in legumes by providing nitrogen in nutrient-poor habitats, and by consuming carbon for support of symbiotic N-fixation. L. corniculatus clones (genotypes) were grown under two levels of nitrogen fertilization: a treatment which suppressed nodulation with fertilization and a treatment which received no additional fertilization. These plants relied solely on symbiotic N-fixation. Plants which supported symbionts had lower biomass and lower tannin concentrations than fertilized plants; this appears to be a result of the large carbon demand on N-fixation. Plants supporting symbionts often had relatively lower protein concentrations than fertilized plants. Cyanide concentration was influenced by plant genotype but not by nitrogen source. Although symbiotic N-fixing plants were smaller, they had three times the reproductive output of fertilized plants.