Plant trichomes and a single gene GLABRA1 contribute to insect community composition on field-grown Arabidopsis thaliana

Background Genetic variation in plants alters insect abundance and community structure in the field; however, little is known about the importance of a single gene among diverse plant genotypes. In this context, Arabidopsis trichomes provide an excellent system to discern the roles of natural variation and a key gene, GLABRA1, in shaping insect communities. In this study, we transplanted two independent glabrous mutants (gl1–1 and gl1–2) and 17 natural accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana to two localities in Switzerland and Japan.