Comments on flower evolution and beetle pollination in the generaAnnona andRollinia (Annonaceae)

1989 ◽  
Vol 167 (3-4) ◽  
pp. 189-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerhard Gottsberger
Keyword(s):  
Beetle Pollination ◽  
Flower Evolution

scholarly journals Pitfall Flower Development and Organ Identity of Ceropegia sandersonii (Apocynaceae-Asclepiadoideae)

Plants ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1767
Author(s):  
Annemarie Heiduk ◽  
Dewi Pramanik ◽  
Marlies Spaans ◽  
Loes Gast ◽  
Nemi Dorst ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Floral Anatomy ◽  
Floral Organ ◽  
Mads Box ◽  
Floral Organs ◽  
Abcde Model ◽  
Organ Identity ◽  
Mads Box Gene ◽  
Flower Evolution ◽  
Developmental Phases

Deceptive Ceropegia pitfall flowers are an outstanding example of synorganized morphological complexity. Floral organs functionally synergise to trap fly-pollinators inside the fused corolla. Successful pollination requires precise positioning of flies headfirst into cavities at the gynostegium. These cavities are formed by the corona, a specialized organ of corolline and/or staminal origin. The interplay of floral organs to achieve pollination is well studied but their evolutionary origin is still unclear. We aimed to obtain more insight in the homology of the corona and therefore investigated floral anatomy, ontogeny, vascularization, and differential MADS-box gene expression in Ceropegia sandersonii using X-ray microtomography, Light and Scanning Electronic Microscopy, and RT-PCR. During 10 defined developmental phases, the corona appears in phase 7 at the base of the stamens and was not found to be vascularized. A floral reference transcriptome was generated and 14 MADS-box gene homologs, representing all major MADS-box gene classes, were identified. B- and C-class gene expression was found in mature coronas. Our results indicate staminal origin of the corona, and we propose a first ABCDE-model for floral organ identity in Ceropegia to lay the foundation for a better understanding of the molecular background of pitfall flower evolution in Apocynaceae.

Beetle pollination of Philodendron solimoesense (Araceae) in French Guiana

1999 ◽  
Vol 160 (6) ◽  
pp. 1135-1143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Gibernau ◽  
Denis Barabé ◽  
Philippe Cerdan ◽  
Alain Dejean
Keyword(s):  
French Guiana ◽  
Beetle Pollination

scholarly journals The largest early-diverging angiosperm family is mostly pollinated by ovipositing insects and so are most surviving lineages of early angiosperms

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1870) ◽  
pp. 20172365 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shi-Xiao Luo ◽  
Lian-Jie Zhang ◽  
Shuai Yuan ◽  
Zhong-Hui Ma ◽  
Dian-Xiang Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electron Microscopy ◽  
Food Reward ◽  
Early Miocene ◽  
Molecular Clocks ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Insect Pollination ◽  
Basal Angiosperms ◽  
Gall Midges ◽  
Beetle Pollination ◽  
Direct Observations

Insect pollination in basal angiosperms is assumed to mostly involve ‘generalized' insects looking for food, but direct observations of ANITA grade (283 species) pollinators are sparse. We present new data for numerous Schisandraceae, the largest ANITA family, from fieldwork, nocturnal filming, electron microscopy, barcoding and molecular clocks to infer pollinator/plant interactions over multiple years at sites throughout China to test the extent of pollinator specificity. Schisandraceae are pollinated by nocturnal gall midges that lay eggs in the flowers and whose larvae then feed on floral exudates. At least three Schisandraceae have shifted to beetle pollination. Pollination by a single midge species predominates, but one species was pollinated by different species at three locations and one by two at the same location. Based on molecular clocks, gall midges and Schisandraceae may have interacted since at least the Early Miocene. Combining these findings with a review of all published ANITA pollination data shows that ovipositing flies are the most common pollinators of living representatives of the ANITA grade. Compared to food reward-based pollination, oviposition-based systems are less wasteful of plant gametes because (i) none are eaten and (ii) female insects with herbivorous larvae reliably visit conspecific flowers.

Heterodichogamy and nitidulid beetle pollination in Anaxagorea prinoides, an early divergent Annonaceae

2010 ◽  
Vol 291 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 25-33 ◽  
Author(s):  
Holger Teichert ◽  
Stefan Dötterl ◽  
Gerhard Gottsberger
Keyword(s):  
Beetle Pollination

scholarly journals Defining the limits of flowers: the challenge of distinguishing between the evolutionary products of simple versus compound strobili

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1539) ◽  
pp. 397-409 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula J. Rudall ◽  
Richard M. Bateman
Keyword(s):  
Seed Plants ◽  
Developmental Genetic ◽  
Versus Compound ◽  
Phylogenetic Reconstructions ◽  
Extant Genus ◽  
Genetic Mechanisms ◽  
Flower Evolution ◽  
Conifer Cone ◽  
Patterning Genes ◽  
Extinct Genus

Recent phylogenetic reconstructions suggest that axially condensed flower-like structures evolved iteratively in seed plants from either simple or compound strobili. The simple-strobilus model of flower evolution, widely applied to the angiosperm flower, interprets the inflorescence as a compound strobilus. The conifer cone and the gnetalean ‘flower’ are commonly interpreted as having evolved from a compound strobilus by extreme condensation and (at least in the case of male conifer cones) elimination of some structures present in the presumed ancestral compound strobilus. These two hypotheses have profoundly different implications for reconstructing the evolution of developmental genetic mechanisms in seed plants. If different flower-like structures evolved independently, there should intuitively be little commonality of patterning genes. However, reproductive units of some early-divergent angiosperms, including the extant genus Trithuria (Hydatellaceae) and the extinct genus Archaefructus (Archaefructaceae), apparently combine features considered typical of flowers and inflorescences. We re-evaluate several disparate strands of comparative data to explore whether flower-like structures could have arisen by co-option of flower-expressed patterning genes into independently evolved condensed inflorescences, or vice versa . We discuss the evolution of the inflorescence in both gymnosperms and angiosperms, emphasising the roles of heterotopy in dictating gender expression and heterochrony in permitting internodal compression.

scholarly journals The maleness of larger angiosperm flowers

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (20) ◽  
pp. 10921-10926 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gustavo Brant Paterno ◽  
Carina Lima Silveira ◽  
Johannes Kollmann ◽  
Mark Westoby ◽  
Carlos Roberto Fonseca
Keyword(s):  
Sex Allocation ◽  
Seed Set ◽  
Limited Resource ◽  
Male And Female ◽  
Allocation Patterns ◽  
Biomass Components ◽  
Flower Evolution ◽  
Primary Male ◽  
Shed Light ◽  
Allocation Strategies

Flower biomass varies widely across the angiosperms. Each plant species invests a given amount of biomass to construct its sex organs. A comparative understanding of how this limited resource is partitioned among primary (male and female structures) and secondary (petals and sepals) sexual organs on hermaphrodite species can shed light on general evolutionary processes behind flower evolution. Here, we use allometries relating different flower biomass components across species to test the existence of broad allocation patterns across the angiosperms. Based on a global dataset with flower biomass spanning five orders of magnitude, we show that heavier angiosperm flowers tend to be male-biased and invest strongly in petals to promote pollen export, while lighter flowers tend to be female-biased and invest more in sepals to insure their own seed set. This result demonstrates that larger flowers are not simple carbon copies of small ones, indicating that sexual selection via male–male competition is an important driver of flower biomass evolution and sex allocation strategies across angiosperms.

scholarly journals A beetle pollination system in grassland proteas

2007 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 337
Author(s):  
S.-L. Steenhuisen ◽  
S.D. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Pollination System ◽  
Beetle Pollination

scholarly journals Honeybees prefer novel insect-pollinated flower shapes over bird-pollinated flower shapes

2018 ◽  
Vol 65 (4) ◽  
pp. 457-465 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scarlett R Howard ◽  
Mani Shrestha ◽  
Juergen Schramme ◽  
Jair E Garcia ◽  
Aurore Avarguès-Weber ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Choice Behavior ◽  
Prior Experience ◽  
Flower Color ◽  
Gray Scale ◽  
Visual Signaling ◽  
Flower Shape ◽  
Flower Evolution ◽  
Plant Pollinator ◽  
European Honeybee

AbstractPlant–pollinator interactions have a fundamental influence on flower evolution. Flower color signals are frequently tuned to the visual capabilities of important pollinators such as either bees or birds, but far less is known about whether flower shape influences the choices of pollinators. We tested European honeybee Apis mellifera preferences using novel achromatic (gray-scale) images of 12 insect-pollinated and 12 bird-pollinated native Australian flowers in Germany; thus, avoiding influences of color, odor, or prior experience. Independent bees were tested with a number of parameterized images specifically designed to assess preferences for size, shape, brightness, or the number of flower-like shapes present in an image. We show that honeybees have a preference for visiting images of insect-pollinated flowers and such a preference is most-likely mediated by holistic information rather than by individual image parameters. Our results indicate angiosperms have evolved flower shapes which influence the choice behavior of important pollinators, and thus suggest spatial achromatic flower properties are an important part of visual signaling for plant–pollinator interactions.

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