Cyanogenesis in tropical Prunus turneriana: characterisation, variation and response to low light

Abstract

This study characterised three aspects of cyanogenesis in the late successional tropical rainforest species Prunus turneriana (F.M.Bailey) Kalkman. First, all tissues were found to be highly cyanogenic, containing combinations of the cyanogenic glycosides (R)-prunasin, (S)-sambunigrin, and amygdalin. Second, the progeny of a single parent tree varied markedly and continuously in their cyanogenic glycoside content, indicating that this variation is genetically based. Third, we investigated resource allocation to cyanogenic glycosides in light treatments representative of rainforest understorey and gap environments. Contrary to our hypothesis that under low light, photosynthetic gain would be maximised by the reallocation of nitrogen from defence to the photosynthetic system, we found no difference in cyanogenic glycoside concentration, or the proportion of nitrogen allocated to cyanogenic glycoside, between high and low light. However, within the plant, shade affected a significant change in distribution of cyanogenic glycosides between young and old leaves. There was an increased allocation of cyanogenic glycosides to old, expanded and photosynthetically productive leaves, a pattern which appears inconsistent with predictions of optimal defence theories, and the results of other studies. We suggest that such a strategy may be advantageous for seedlings of tree species that can only reach a reproductive stage following the creation of a canopy gap.