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Botany JoVE (Open Access) Citable · DOI

Characterizing Herbivore Resistance Mechanisms: Spittlebugs on Brachiaria spp. as an Example

DOI: 10.3791/3047-v
What you'll learn
  • ✓ Distinguish antibiosis from tolerance mechanisms in plant herbivore resistance
  • ✓ Design and execute a no-choice feeding test for insect herbivores
  • ✓ Quantify relative contributions of resistance mechanisms using experimental data
Protocol

This video explains mechanisms of host plant resistance to herbivory and demonstrates a no-choice test that estimates the relative contributions of antibiosis and tolerance to spittlebug resistance in Brachiaria spp.

Difficulty
intermediate
Total time
~2–4 weeks (plant growth + multi-day insect assays)
Model organism
Spittlebugs (Hemiptera), Brachiaria spp. (grass)
Biosafety
BSL-1

Steps

1
Understand host plant resistance mechanisms to herbivory

Review the ecological concepts of antibiosis (reduced herbivore performance on resistant plants) and tolerance (plant recovery despite herbivory damage). Establish the theoretical framework for the no-choice test design.

▶ 00:04
2
Prepare Brachiaria plant material for testing

Grow and select healthy Brachiaria spp. plants representing resistant and susceptible genotypes. Ensure uniform plant age and physiological condition prior to insect exposure.

▶ 02:19
3
Obtain and standardize spittlebug insect colonies

Source spittlebugs and maintain healthy populations under controlled conditions. Standardize insect age, size, and physiological state before assigning to experimental treatments.

▶ 03:40
4
Conduct no-choice feeding assay and measure outcomes

Expose individual spittlebugs to single plant genotypes in isolated cages. Record insect survival, weight gain, reproductive output, and plant damage over the experimental period.

▶ 05:02
5
Analyze data to quantify resistance mechanisms

Calculate antibiosis metrics (insect performance reduction) and tolerance metrics (plant damage recovery). Compare resistant and susceptible genotypes to partition resistance contributions.

▶ 06:19
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