DOI: 10.5061/dryad.t469v60
title: Data from: Phenolics lie at the center of functional versatility in the responses of two phytochemically diverse tropical trees to canopy thinning

description: Saplings in the shade of the tropical understorey face the challenge of
 acquiring sufficient carbon for growth as well as defence against intense
 pest pressure. A minor increase in light availability via canopy thinning
 may allow for increased investment in chemical defence against pests, but
 it may also necessitate additional biochemical investment to prevent
 light-induced oxidative stress. The shifts in secondary metabolite
 composition that increased sun exposure may precipitate in such tree
 species present an ideal milieu for evaluating the potential of a single
 suite of phenolic secondary metabolites to be used in mitigating both
 abiotic and biotic stressors. To conduct such an evaluation, we exposed
 saplings of two unrelated species to a range of light environments and
 compared changes in their foliar secondary metabolome alongside
 corresponding changes in the abiotic and biotic activity of their
 secondary metabolite suites. Among the numerous classes of secondary
 metabolites found in both species, phenolics accounted for the majority of
 increases in antioxidant and UV-absorbing properties as well as activity
 against an invertebrate herbivore and a fungal pathogen. Our results
 support the hypothesis that phenolics contribute to the capacity of plants
 to resist co-occurring abiotic and biotic stressors in resource-limited
 conditions.
description: antioxidant_data_allData from FRAP/FRASC assays for primary and secondary metabolites.FRAP_FRASC_protocolProtocol for FRAP and FRASC antioxidant assays.artemia_assay_lethalityData for Artemia franciscana assay of secondary metabolite extracts from Alseis blackiana and Brosimum utile.artemia_lethality_all.xlsxextraction_weights_allGravimetric data for all extract fractions from Alseis blackiana and Brosimum utile.fungal_assay_dataData from assay of secondary metabolite extracts from Alseis blackiana and Brosimum utile with a Glomerellaceae fungal pathogen.fungal_assay_protocolProtocol for assay of secondary metabolite extracts from Alseis blackiana and Brosimum utile with Glomerellaceae fungal pathogen.shadehouse_PAR_temp_rh_dataPhotosynthetic flux, temperature, and relative humidity data for the uniform shade treatments.uv_irradiance_dataUV irradiance data for experimental shadehouse site.sunflecks_PAR_dataPhotosynthetic flux data for sunflecks treatment.UV_absorbance_dataUV absorbance of UPLC-MS features in secondary metabolite extracts of Alseis blackiana and Brosimum utile.treatments_sample_numbersSample number-treatment data for all samples of Alseis blackiana and Brosimum utile.UV_absorbance_analysisR code for extracting UV absorbance data from Waters UPLC-MS data.XCMS_AnalysisR code for processing and analysis of UPLC-MS data with XCMS and MetaboAnalyst.foldchange_statsDetailed results of statistical analyses of secondary metabolite fold-change across treatmentsIndividual compound class and fold-changeClassification and fold-change data for each compound in both species and leaf agesbothspp_all_metabtypes.xlsxBrosimum utile molecular networkMolecular network visualisation file for Brosimum utile. For use with Cytoscape.bu_all_v3_filtered.cysAlseis blackiana molecular networkMolecular network visualisation file for Alseis blackiana. For use with Cytoscape.ab_network_sunflecks_filt.cys