DOI: 10.5061/dryad.g71c0
title: Data from: The many dimensions of diet breadth: phytochemical, genetic, behavioral, and physiological perspectives on the interaction between a native herbivore and an exotic host

description: From the perspective of an herbivorous insect, conspecific host plants are
 not identical, and intraspecific variation in host nutritional quality or
 defensive capacity might mediate spatially variable outcomes in
 plant-insect interactions. Here we explore this possibility in the context
 of an ongoing host breadth expansion of a native butterfly (the Melissa
 blue, Lycaeides melissa) onto an exotic host plant (alfalfa, Medicago
 sativa). We examine variation among seven alfalfa populations that
 differed in terms of colonization by L. melissa; specifically, we examined
 variation in phytochemistry, foliar protein, and plant population genetic
 structure, as well as responses of caterpillars and adult butterflies to
 foliage from the same populations. Regional patterns of alfalfa
 colonization by L. melissa were well predicted by phytochemical variation,
 and colonized patches of alfalfa showed a similar level of
 inter-individual phytochemical diversity. However, phytochemical variation
 was a poor predictor of larval performance, despite the fact that survival
 and weight gain differed dramatically among caterpillars reared on plants
 from different alfalfa populations. Moreover, we observed a mismatch
 between alfalfa supporting the best larval performance and alfalfa favored
 by ovipositing females. Thus, the axes of plant variation that mediate
 interactions with L. melissa depend upon herbivore life history stage,
 which raises important issues for our understanding of adaptation to novel
 resources by an organism with a complex life history.
description: Alfalfa chemistry
 dataPhytochemical data for
 alfalfa (Medicago sativa) samples. This csv file includes sample
 meta-data, and chemical measurements for 49 anonymous
 chemicals.alfalfa_chem.csvAlfalfa protein dataProtein data for alfalfa (Medicago sativa) samples. This csv file includes sample meta-data and protein absorbency measurements.alfalfa_protein.csvLarval performance dataLycaeides melissa larval performance data. This spreadsheet includes plant population, survival and mass data for individual caterpillars reared on alfalfa from different sites.Larval_performance.xlsxOviposition preference dataThis compressed directory gives the oviposition preference data in terms of the number of eggs laid on individual plants by different females. Four files are included with different butterfly (SLA vs. VUH) and alfalfa populations.preference.tar.gzDraft alfalfa genome assemblyFASTA file contains the draft alfalfa genome described in the paper, which is organized in scaffolds. The assembly was generated with ALLPATHS-LG. The shell script used to run the assembly is included as a ReadMe file.final.assembly.fastaAlfalfa genetic dataFiltered genetic data for population samples of alfalfa. The file is in vcf format and was produced using GATK's UnifiedGenotyper with ploidy set to 4 (i.e., assuming tertraploids). Only variants with a mean of 2X coverage were retained in this file. IDs provide population information as described in the paper.filtered2x_alfalfavariants.vcf