How to estimate synergism or antagonism
motivating source: Integration of two herbivore-induced plant volatiles results in synergistic effects on plant defense and resistance
What is synergism or antagonism?
(this post is a follow up to What is an interaction?)
In the experiment for Figure 1 of the motivating source article, the researchers were explicitly interested in measuring any synergistic effects of hac
and indole
on the response. What is a synergistic effect? If hac
and indole
act independently, then the response should be additive – the HAC+Indole effect should simply be the sum of the independent HAC and Indole effects. A HAC+Indole effect that is larger than the sum of the two independent effects is evidence of a synergistic (positive) interaction. A HAC+Indole effect that is less than the sum of the two independent effects is evidence of an antagonistic (negative) interaction.
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