Author contributions
DAB, PEG, RDJ and EG conceived and wrote the study.
A response to Atala et al. (2022) ‘Fungal endophytes improve the performance of host
plants but do not eliminate the growth/defence trade‐off’
A central paradigm in plant biology is that there is a trade‐off between growth and
defence against biotic stresses (Herms & Mattson, 1992; Lind et al., 2013; Karasov
et al., 2017; Züst & Agrawal, 2017; Monson et al., 2022). This paradigm is based on
recurrent observations that increased production of chemical defences is associated
with compromised plant growth, and it provides obvious limits to increasing the productivity
of plants that must also resist pests and pathogens (Ballaré & Austin, 2019; Ha et al.,
2021; Sestari & Campos, 2021). We have recently challenged this paradigm by proposing
that fungal endophytes can simultaneously increase plant growth and defence against
biotic stresses (Fig. 1) (Bastías et al., 2021).
Fig. 1
Schematic representation showing the regulation of the plant growth–defence balance
by phytohormones (a) and Epichloë endophytes (b). (a) The growth–defence trade‐off
results from mutual inhibition between growth‐ and defence‐related hormone responses
(e.g. gibberellins (GA)/auxins (Aux) and jasmonic acid (JA)/salicylic acid (SA)).
(b) Epichloë induces plant growth‐related hormones and produces defence compounds
(alkaloids) that circumvent the need for defence‐related hormones, thus decoupling
the trade‐off. Arrows and truncated connectors indicate positive and negative regulations,
respectively. Dashed lines indicate those components and effects associated with Epichloë
endophytes.
The growth–defence trade‐off largely exists because the hormone signalling pathways
that underpin growth and defence are mutually inhibitory. Thus, growth‐related hormones,
such as gibberellins/auxins (GA/Aux), repress defence‐related hormones, such as jasmonic
acid/salicylic acid (JA/SA), and vice versa (Fig. 1a). Epichloë spp. are fungal endophytes
of grasses belonging to the subfamily Pooideae that provide an effective defence mechanism
to plants through synthesis of alkaloids. Our hypothesis is that Epichloë endophytes
may uncouple the growth–defence trade‐off by simultaneously inducing plant growth‐related
hormones and producing defence compounds (alkaloids) that circumvent the need for
host defence‐related hormones (Fig. 1b) (Bastías et al., 2021). Our hypothesis predicts
that the Epichloë‐mediated stimulation of growth‐related hormones will not compromise
plant defence despite the downregulation of plant defence‐related hormones following
the production of defence alkaloids by endophytes (Fig. 1b).
In a Letter published in this issue of New Phytologist, Atala et al. (2022, pp. 384–387)
indicated that we hypothesized ‘a suppression of the growth–defence trade‐off due
to the positive effects of endophytes on plant resource status’. As shown in Fig. 1,
our hypothesis is based on the plant hormonal control of the trade‐off, not in a resource‐based
trade‐off (Bastías et al., 2021). Plant hormones can control the trade‐off between
growth and defence regardless of resource availability, as has been demonstrated in
genetically modified plants (Campos et al., 2016; Guo et al., 2018; Li et al., 2019,
2022; Major et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2021; Panda et al., 2022). Indeed, resource
availability can be important for trade‐offs in general and could play a role in the
growth–defence trade‐off, as we acknowledge (Bastías et al., 2021). However, current
understanding at the mechanistic level indicates that plant hormones play a key role
in controlling the growth–defence trade‐off (Karasov et al., 2017; Ballaré & Austin,
2019; Monson et al., 2022).
Atala et al. claimed that our study lacks ‘an unequivocal demonstration of a growth–defence
trade‐off among nonsymbiotic (E−) plants in the studied species (which is supposed
to be eliminated)’. We agree with the authors in that it would have been ideal to
provide evidence that the trade‐off is present in the E− plants. This should have
been tested using data such as the concentration of defence compounds and relative
growth rate measured in the same studies that included E+ plants. Unfortunately, to
our knowledge, these data are seldom reported in studies on grasses and Epichloë endophytes
with E− plants. The alternative of evaluating the growth–defence trade‐off in E− plants
using the same dataset utilized to show the decoupling of the trade‐off by Epichloë
endophytes (fig. 3 in Bastías et al., 2021) would not be reliable, since neither growth
nor defence data from E− plants can be standardized. In the studies summarized in
fig. 3 in Bastías et al. (2021), plant biomass in the E− group was measured only once
and at different developmental stages across studies. Single biomass measurements
do not provide an accurate estimate of plant growth because the initial biomass is
not accounted for. Likewise, plant defence in the E− group was determined from different
measurements, such as insect body weight or survival. Combining these plant defence
estimates would generate high data dispersion due to the different nature of the response
variables. This problem of standardization does not apply to the growth–defence relationship
shown in fig. 3 in Bastías et al. (2021), where we took advantage of the fact that
response variables (growth/defence gains) were calculated from two different treatments
within each study, and thus data from both plant functions could be standardized by
calculating effect sizes. Considering this limitation on data availability to carry
out an analysis with E− plants only, in our study we followed the evidence‐based assumption
that the growth–defence trade‐off is ubiquitous in plants (Herms & Mattson, 1992;
Züst & Agrawal, 2017), including grasses (Lind et al., 2013).
Atala et al. tested the growth–defence trade‐off in only one plant–endophyte association.
Specifically, they worked with the grass Hordeum murinum associated with an unidentified
endophyte, certainly not Epichloë, which has not been found in H. murinum (Wilson
et al., 1991; Afkhami, 2012). They claimed that ‘no evidence of the expected trade‐off
elimination predicted by Bastías et al. (2021) was found in our study system, based
on the fact that increased levels of JA hormone and loline and peramine alkaloids
(defence‐related compounds) in both plant biotypes (E+ and E−) were associated with
reduced plant growth and reproduction. Because the authors base their claim on their
own data, it is relevant to address their analyses and conclusions. First, from a
mechanistic standpoint, we believe that the use of estimates of plant reproduction
to test for the growth–defence trade‐off is not adequate. Plant growth is the appropriate
response variable as it is intimately linked to plant defence responses by the mutual
inhibition of growth‐ and defence‐related hormones (Fig. 1). The relationship between
growth and reproduction, which is largely a matter of plant resource allocation, can
vary under different conditions (Bazzaz & Grace, 1997). In fact, Atala et al.'s data
show that the slopes in the linear models of E+ plants for growth and reproduction
vs JA are seemingly different (−14.9 vs −106.8). Second, concerning the plant growth
data in Atala et al., it is important to recall that our hypothesis posits that the
ability of endophytes to increase growth‐related hormones (and, thus, plant growth)
constitutes a mechanism to alleviate the trade‐off. However, it is not clear whether
the unidentified endophyte associated with H. murinum actually exhibits such an ability
since there is some overlap between E+ and E− points in the y‐axis in the three defence‐related
compounds. There is a tendency for higher growth in E+ plants in the three cases,
but the statistical significance of these differences should be provided in full linear
models. Third, we are puzzled by the authors’ statement that ‘beneficial fungi can
induce the expression of key functional genes in their host plants, affecting hormonal
(e.g. jasmonic acid) and biochemical pathways (i.e. related to defence alkaloids such
as loline and peramine)’. To our knowledge, both loline and peramine alkaloids are
produced by fungal endophytes (almost exclusively by Epichloë spp.), not by plants
(Bush et al., 1997; Schardl et al., 2013). Yet, since the authors report loline and
peramine in both E+ and E− plants, we have to believe that – although highly unlikely
– in their study system these alkaloids are plant‐derived compounds. However, because
our hypothesis refers to endophyte‐derived defences (fig. 1 in Bastías et al., 2021),
this would make their results not applicable to the validation or rejection of our
hypothesis on the elimination of the growth–defence trade‐off. Fourth, we think that
the appropriate manner to test the trade‐off between growth and defence in E+ plants
is measuring actual plant functions, as we did in our analysis using published datasets
(Bastías et al., 2021), instead of using particular compounds or ‘biomarkers’ that
do not always translate into the plant function, such as resistance (Kennedy & Barbour,
1992).
As a final note, it is important to remark that we put forward that endophytes can
eliminate the growth–defence trade‐off, proving our point with Epichloë endophytes
but acknowledging that not all endophytes would possess the ability to decouple the
trade‐off. Our hypothesis clearly posits that this ability is based on both the induction
of plant growth‐related hormones and the production of defence compounds by endophytes
(Fig. 1). Therefore, a hypothetical case of verification of the trade‐off in another
system, and moreover if it does not include endophytes with this ability, would hardly
question our main conclusion. We hope that this academic exchange of ideas on methodological
and conceptual issues will help advance understanding of the regulation of plant trade‐offs
by endophytes.