Plant biological warfare: thorns inject pathogenic bacteria into herbivores

Abstract

Thorns, spines and prickles are among the rich arsenal of antiherbivore defence mechanisms that plants have evolved. Many of these thorns are aposematic, that is, marked by various types of warning coloration. This coloration was recently proposed to deter large herbivores. Yet, the mechanical defence provided by thorns against large herbivores might be only the tip of the iceberg in a much more complicated story. Here we present evidence that thorns harbour an array of pathogenic bacteria that are much more dangerous to herbivores than the painful mechanical wounding by the thorns. Pathogenic bacteria like Clostridium perfringens, the causative agent of the life-threatening gas gangrene, and others, were isolated and identified from date palm (with green-yellow-black aposematic spines) and common hawthorn (with red aposematic thorns). These thorn-inhabiting bacteria have a considerable potential role in antiherbivory, and may have uniquely contributed to the common evolution of aposematism (warning coloration) in thorny plants.