33rd Annual Student Research Conference
Intra-population variation in defensive iridoid glycoside production by Plantago lanceolata
Madison R. Williard*, Zac Dwyer, and Chris Roberts
Dr. Robert D. Sieg, Faculty Mentor
Plants have limited resources to invest in chemical or physical defenses, growth, or reproductive output. The latitudinal defense hypothesis states that investment in defense increases as latitude decreases based on the diversity of biotic threats. Assessing intrapopulation variation in defense allocation on a small scale can determine best sampling procedures to quantify interpopulation variation at larger spatial scales. Leaf samples from ribwort plantain (Plantago lanceolata) were collected from the Truman State University farm and chemically extracted to successfully quantify the defensive iridoid glycosides aucubin and catalpol using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) at three distinct scales (within plant, site, or population). The current pilot study reports how production of these compounds vary within a single population to inform how samples should be collected and surveyed across larger latitudinal gradients for upcoming research projects.
Keywords: Plantago lanceolata, chemical defense, intrapopulation variation, HPLC, iridoid glycoside
Topic(s):Biology
Chemistry
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: TBA
Location: TBA
Time: TBA