Rabbits like to eat plants with a lot of DNA

The researchers also found that it was the opposite for invertebrates, such as snails and insects, as they prefer to eat plants with a lot less DNA.

Many factors affect what herbivores eat such as rabbits, but the role of genome size, which corresponds to the amount of DNA in the cells of an organism, in the interaction between herbivores and plants was unknown.

In this study, published in Acts of the Royal Society B, the researchers suggest that genome size should be used as a new measure to improve ecological models designed to predict how plant communities will respond to ecological changes caused by climate or land use, for example.

However, while the results suggest what are the preferred plants of rabbits and invertebrates, they could also show that these plants simply recover more slowly after being eaten.

Professor Andrew Leitch, co-author of the study at Queen Mary University in London, said: "We demonstrate that genome size influences plant-herbivore interactions, and suggest that inclusion the size of the genome in ecological models can deepen our understanding of plant productivity and community ecology under the stress of nutrients and herbivores. "

The study was conducted in the grasslands in West London, where herbivores were excluded for eight years.

The researchers analyzed plots that were then grazed by rabbits or invertebrates, such as snails and insects, to determine the most growing plants. They found that the plants reacted in different ways, depending on the herbivore.

Rabbits are thought to favor large genome plant species as they are more nutritious, since a plant genome is a rich set of proteins and nucleic acids needed by animals for the construction of plants. their own cells.

In the meantime, invertebrates have probably established themselves as specialists in small genome plant species, because there are more.

The genome size of a plant can vary enormously, the largest at least 2,400 times larger than the smallest. This has an impact on the mode and place of residence of plants and this study shows that herbivore species have a different impact on species, depending on the amount of DNA present in each of their cells .

Ilia Leitch of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, added, "We argue that genome size needs to be considered in ecological models describing ecological processes, and the functionality of these ecological models is essential for establishing a policy against environmental effects. negative impacts of climate change, land use, eutrophication of our environment and the conservation of our endangered species. "

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More information:
Interactions between genome size of the plant, nutrients and herbivory in rabbits, molluscs and insects in a temperate grassland, Acts of the Royal Society B, rspb.royalsocietypublishing.or … .1098 / rspb.2018.2619