DOI: 10.5061/dryad.dm33k0c
title: Data from: Resource allocation trade-offs and the loss of chemical defences during apple domestication

description: Background and Aims: Most crops have been dramatically altered from their
 wild ancestors with the primary goal of increasing harvestable yield. A
 long-held hypothesis is that increased allocation to yield has reduced
 plant investment in defence and resulted in crops that are highly
 susceptible to pests. However, clear demonstrations of these trade-offs
 have been elusive due to the many selective pressures that occur
 concurrently during crop domestication. Methods: To provide a robust test
 of whether increased allocation to yield can alter plant investment in
 defence, this study examined fruit chemical defence traits and herbivore
 resistance across 52 wild and 56 domesticated genotypes of apples that
 vary &gt;26-fold in fruit size. Ninety-six phenolic metabolites were
 quantified in apple skin, pulp and seeds, and resistance to the codling
 moth was assessed with a series of bioassays. Key Results: The results
 show that wild apples have higher total phenolic concentrations and a
 higher diversity of metabolites than domesticated apples in skin, pulp and
 seeds. A negative phenotypic relationship between fruit size and phenolics
 indicates that this pattern is driven in part by allocation-based
 trade-offs between yield and defence. There were no clear differences in
 codling moth performance between wild and domesticated apples and no
 overall effects of total phenolic concentration on codling moth
 performance, but the results did show that codling moth resistance was
 increased in apples with higher phenolic diversity. The concentrations of
 a few individual compounds (primarily flavan-3-ols) also correlated with
 increased resistance, primarily driven by a reduction in pupal mass of
 female moths. Conclusions: The negative phenotypic relationship between
 fruit size and phenolic content, observed across a large number of wild
 and domesticated genotypes, supports the hypothesis of yield–defence
 trade-offs in crops. However, the limited effects of phenolics on codling
 moth highlight the complexity of consequences that domestication has for
 plant–herbivore interactions. Continued studies of crop domestication can
 further our understanding of the multiple trade-offs involved in plant
 defence, while simultaneously leading to novel discoveries that can
 improve the sustainability of crop production.
description: WhiteheadAndPoveda_AppleDomesticationThese data show fruit phenolic composition, herbivore resistance measures, and other traits for 56 genotypes of the domesticated apple (Malus domestica) and 52 genotypes of its wild ancestor (Malus sieversii) growing in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) national apple germplasm collection in Geneva, NY. The purpose of the study was to examine how fruit chemistry and resistance have changed during apple domestication. Data in the database entitled “WhiteheadAndPoveda_AppleDomestication.csv” are a combination of data collected in this study and data compiled from the USDA Germplasm Resources Information Network – (GRIN) database. Details are provided below for each variable in the database.