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'Growth' and 'Parasite Defense' characterize an internal conflict of plants: necessity to grow as a prerequisite for competitive resource sequestration, and necessity to defend against parasites for retaining resources once gained from competition. This conflict defines the core of individual plant fitness and is assumed to be controlled through basic mechanisms in resource allocation between primary and secondary metabolism. The analysis must focus on the resource-based 'cost/benefit' balances of interactions in inter and intra-specific competition, between hosts and parasites, and with organisms of the mycorrhizosphere. This implies unraveling of signal chains, genetic control of allocation and quantification of single-plant competitiveness. The latter is conceived as efficiencies in resource gains per unit costs for exploiting above and belowground space and maintaining involved plant structure. Underlying mechanisms need to be scaled plant-internally between the molecular and whole-plant level, viewed in relation to plant ontogeny and growth conditions, and evaluated for interactions with the resource flux at the stand level. The hypothesis is being examined that plants regulate their resource allocation in terms of trade-offs, i.e. that increase in defense capacity inherently leads to constraints on growth and competitiveness. The concept of this interdisciplinary research program is highlighted which aims at clarifying such potential trade-offs in economic plants from agronomy and forestry.
A spectrum of contrasting herbaceous and woody species is being studied for the extent of general validity in the regulatory mechanisms that underlie resource allocation. This introduction also relates to ABSTRACTS of papers which were presented in 2001 and 2003 during SFB-symposia with international guest keynoters and SFB members that viewed the current evidence from the ongoing analysis in relation to the state of knowledge in this field of research.
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Keywords:
Competition, defense, fitness, allocation, signaling, scaling
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