Phenolic and phenolic-related factors as determinants of suitability of mountain birch leaves to an herbivorous insect

Abstract

We investigated the role of phenolic and phenolic-related traits of the leaves of mountain birch (Betula pubescens ssp. czerepanovii) as determinants of their suitability for the growth of larvae of the geometrid Epirrita autumnata. As parameters of leaf suitability, we determined the contents of total phenolics, gallotannins, soluble and cell-wall-bound proanthocyanidins (PAS and PAB, respectively), lignin, protein precipitation capacity of tannins (PPC), and leaf toughness. In addition, we examined concentrations of soluble carbohydrates and protein-bound amino acids as background variables describing the nutritive value of leaves. The correlation of the leaf traits of our 40 study trees with the tree-specific relative growth rate (RGR) of E. autumnata showed that the only significant correlation with RGR was that of PAS - the largest fraction of total phenolics - and even that explained only 15% of the variation in E. autumnata growth. The nonlinear estimation of the relationship between RGR and PAS by piecewise linear regression divided the 40 study trees into two groups: (i) 19 trees with good leaves for E. autumnata (RGR ranging from 0.301 to 0.390), and (ii) 21 trees with poor leaves (RGR ranging from 0.196 to 0.296). The suitability of leaves within these two groups of trees was determined by different phenolic traits. Within the good group, the suitability of leaves for larvae was determined by the PPC of extracts, which strongly correlated with gallotannins, and by the total content of gallotannins. In contrast, the leaves of poor trees had significantly higher contents of both PAS and PAB, but leaf toughness correlated only negatively with the RGR of E. autumnata larvae. We also discuss the causes of variation in the phenolic and phenolic-related factors that determine the suitability of leaves for E. autumnata larvae in different groups of trees.