Editing Datura stramonium (section)

=== Natural defenses ===
These chemical production responses present in ''Datura stramonium'' function as a natural defense for the plant against dangers.<ref name="Valverde-2002">{{Cite journal |last1=Valverde |first1=P. L. |last2=Fornoni |first2=J. |last3=Nunez-Farfan |first3=J. |date=11 December 2002 |title=Evolutionary ecology of Datura stramonium: equal plant fitness benefits of growth and resistance against herbivory |journal=Journal of Evolutionary Biology |language=en |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=127–137 |doi=10.1046/j.1420-9101.2003.00482.x |pmid=14635887 |s2cid=43040585 |issn=1010-061X|doi-access=free }}</ref> Such dangers can range from biotic factors such as [[herbivore]]s, [[pathogen]]s, [[virus]]es, [[Fungus|fungi]] and [[oomycete]]s to abiotic conditions such as drought, light, temperature, and nutrient deprivation. ''Datura stramonium'' can adjust to all these conditions through protein activity that is correlated with specific domains. Examples of this are [[terpenoid]] production to target herbivores present in multiple sites and abiotic stress responses. The abiotic responses are driven primarily by protein [[kinase]] regulatory subunits which are over-represented, expanded, and positively selected. These traits also show signs of [[physicochemical]] divergence, which put emphasis on the plant's overall adaptability.<ref name="De-la-Cruz-2021">{{Cite journal |last1=De-la-Cruz |first1=I. M. |last2=Hallab |first2=A. |last3=Olivares-Pinto |first3=U. |last4=Tapia-López |first4=R. |last5=Velázquez-Márquez |first5=S. |last6=Piñero |first6=D. |last7=Oyama |first7=K. |last8=Usadel |first8=B. |last9=Núñez-Farfán |first9=J. |date=2021-01-13 |title=Genomic signatures of the evolution of defence against its natural enemies in the poisonous and medicinal plant Datura stramonium (Solanaceae) |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |pages=882 |doi=10.1038/s41598-020-79194-1 |pmid=33441607 |pmc=7806989 |issn=2045-2322}}</ref> In addition to this, terpenoids play a key role in mediating plant defense responses, as they trigger terpene [[metabolite]] activity.<ref name="Jirschitzka-2012">{{Cite journal |last1=Jirschitzka |first1=Jan |last2=Schmidt |first2=Gregor W. |last3=Reichelt |first3=Michael |last4=Schneider |first4=Bernd |last5=Gershenzon |first5=Jonathan |last6=D’Auria |first6=John Charles |date=2012-06-26 |title=Plant tropane alkaloid biosynthesis evolved independently in the Solanaceae and Erythroxylaceae |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |language=en |volume=109 |issue=26 |pages=10304–10309 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1200473109 |issn=0027-8424 |pmc=3387132 |pmid=22665766 |bibcode=2012PNAS..10910304J |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="De-la-Cruz-2021" /> Such activity has the effect of defending against herbivore damage through a [[wikt:sulfakinin|sulfakinin]] (SK) domain that reduces sensitivity of taste receptors for certain insects that come into contact with the plant. Additionally, terpenoids serve as attractants for carnivorous entities that would then attack these same herbivores. Gene domains relating to this [[immune response]] have been seen in positively selected and expanded proteins in Datura stramonium.<ref name="Jirschitzka-2012" /> Overall, these compounds target the central nervous systems of organisms that ingest them, to deter the herbivorous behavior.<ref name="maud-desc" /> Terpenoids are also used for plant-to-plant communication, which could be used for a community-wide threat response.<ref name="De-la-Cruz-2021" /> ''Datura stramonium'' also features leaf trichomes as a defensive trait to prevent herbivory.<ref>Castillo, G., Cruz, L. L., Tapia-López, R., Olmedo-Vicente, E., Carmona, D., Anaya-Lang, A. L., Fornoni, J., Andraca-Gómez, G., Valverde, P. L., & Núñez-Farfán, J. (2014). Selection mosaic exerted by specialist and generalist herbivores on chemical and physical defense of Datura stramonium. PLoS ONE, 9(7). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0102478</ref>

The physiology of the plant itself is important for understanding patterns of defense as its status as an annual plant limits opportunities for biomass regrowth post-destruction, due to its inability to engage regrowth [[meristem]]s. This results in the leaves being susceptible to injury from even small instances of attacks. To compensate, they have a large initial size for redundancy. These leaves also have a greater longevity and ability to [[Metabolism|metabolize]] even when damaged. However, the way these plants have evolved to display these characteristics differs from traditional defense mechanisms, as ''Datura stramonium'' uses a combination of both resistance and growth simultaneously to address these issues, instead of relying exclusively on one or the other. It has been hypothesized that this is due to the fact that these two methods have no negative correlation between them in experimental conditions. However, resource limitations may result in a tradeoff between one method of defense versus the other. In addition, herbivores are not solely the driving force that triggers these responses within the plant. Another factor that impacts behavior is the fact that due to the wide habitat range, a number of different, region-specific response patterns have been observed. However, these defensive responses have been observed to have varying impacts on growth and fitness when put to the test against predators. Studies in ecological reserves have shown that herbivore presence can either increase or decrease plant growth, fitness, and resistance. These results can be attributed to the significant genetic variation of the individual variants present in testing.<ref name="Valverde-2002" />