Trick or treat? Pollinator attraction in Vanilla pompona (Orchidaceae)

Female flowers of some dioecious species are known to develop stamens with sterile pollen, a sexual system known as cryptic dioecy. A convincing hypothesis explaining this phenomenon is that stamens in female flowers attract pollinators and so ensure seed production. However, because this hypothesis has rarely been tested experimentally, we tested it in a cryptically dioecious species, Actinidia polygama (Sieb. et Zucc.) Planch. ex Maxim. Our findings show that pollinators do not show a consistent preference based on the sex of the flowers, and that the removal of stamens from female flowers results in a significant reduction in the frequency of insect visits and fruit production. These results strongly support the pollinator attraction hypothesis in A. polygama. Given the evident role of stamens in female flowers in A. polygama reproduction, we discuss why cryptic dioecy is a rare phenomenon.Key words: Actinidia polygama, cryptic dioecy, pseudopollen, pollinator attraction, unisexual flowers.

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Kin discrimination allows plants to modify investment towards pollinator attraction

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-018-04378-3 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Rubén Torices ◽

José M. Gómez ◽

John R. Pannell

Keyword(s):

Kin Discrimination ◽

Pollinator Attraction

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Relative Role of Flower Color and Scent on Pollinator Attraction: Experimental Tests using F1 and F2 Hybrids of Daylily and Nightlily

PLoS ONE ◽

10.1371/journal.pone.0039010 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 7 (6) ◽

pp. e39010 ◽

Cited By ~ 29

Author(s):

Shun K. Hirota ◽

Kozue Nitta ◽

Yuni Kim ◽

Aya Kato ◽

Nobumitsu Kawakubo ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Experimental Tests ◽

Flower Color ◽

Relative Role ◽

Pollinator Attraction ◽

F2 Hybrids

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The Floral Microbiome: Plant, Pollinator, and Microbial Perspectives

Annual Review of Ecology Evolution and Systematics ◽

10.1146/annurev-ecolsys-011720-013401 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 51 (1) ◽

pp. 363-386 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Rachel L. Vannette

Keyword(s):

Multiple Scales ◽

Ecological Processes ◽

Pollinator Attraction ◽

Plant Variation ◽

Floral Visitors ◽

Floral Phenotype ◽

Bacteria And Fungi ◽

Plant Pollinator ◽

Microbial Effects

Flowers at times host abundant and specialized communities of bacteria and fungi that influence floral phenotypes and interactions with pollinators. Ecological processes drive variation in microbial abundance and composition at multiple scales, including among plant species, among flower tissues, and among flowers on the same plant. Variation in microbial effects on floral phenotype suggests that microbial metabolites could cue the presence or quality of rewards for pollinators, but most plants are unlikely to rely on microbes for pollinator attraction or reproduction. From a microbial perspective, flowers offer opportunities to disperse between habitats, but microbial species differ in requirements for and benefits received from such dispersal. The extent to which floral microbes shape the evolution of floral traits, influence fitness of floral visitors, and respond to anthropogenic change is unclear. A deeper understanding of these phenomena could illuminate the ecological and evolutionary importance of floral microbiomes and their role in the conservation of plant–pollinator interactions.

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Automatic Identification of Players in the Flavonoid Biosynthesis with Application on the Biomedicinal Plant Croton tiglium

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9091103 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (9) ◽

pp. 1103

Author(s):

Boas Pucker ◽

Franziska Reiher ◽

Hanna Marie Schilbert

Keyword(s):

Sequence Similarity ◽

Transcriptome Assembly ◽

Flavonoid Biosynthesis ◽

Automatic Identification ◽

Amino Acid Residues ◽

Proof Of Concept ◽

Pollinator Attraction ◽

Biotechnological Potential ◽

Knowledge Based ◽

Croton Tiglium

The flavonoid biosynthesis is a well-characterised model system for specialised metabolism and transcriptional regulation in plants. Flavonoids have numerous biological functions such as UV protection and pollinator attraction, but also biotechnological potential. Here, we present Knowledge-based Identification of Pathway Enzymes (KIPEs) as an automatic approach for the identification of players in the flavonoid biosynthesis. KIPEs combines comprehensive sequence similarity analyses with the inspection of functionally relevant amino acid residues and domains in subjected peptide sequences. Comprehensive sequence sets of flavonoid biosynthesis enzymes and knowledge about functionally relevant amino acids were collected. As a proof of concept, KIPEs was applied to investigate the flavonoid biosynthesis of the medicinal plant Croton tiglium on the basis of a transcriptome assembly. Enzyme candidates for all steps in the biosynthesis network were identified and matched to previous reports of corresponding metabolites in Croton species.

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Tools to Tie: Flower Characteristics, VOC Emission Profile, and Glandular Trichomes of Two Mexican Salvia Species to Attract Bees

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants9121645 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. 1645

Author(s):

Claudia Giuliani ◽

Manuela Giovanetti ◽

Daniela Lupi ◽

Marco Palamara Mesiano ◽

Renata Barilli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Glandular Trichomes ◽

Single Species ◽

Botanical Garden ◽

Pollinator Attraction ◽

Volatile Organic ◽

Flower Traits ◽

Novel Interactions ◽

New Interactions ◽

Micro Morphology ◽

Physical And Chemical

A plant can combine physical and chemical tools to interact with other organisms. Some are designed for pollinator attraction (i.e., colors and volatile organic compounds-VOCs); others can act to discourage herbivores (i.e., non-glandular trichomes). Few studies fully address available tools in a single species; notwithstanding, this information can be pivotal in understanding new interactions out of the home range. We characterized flower traits, emission profiles of constitutive compounds from flowers and leaves, micro-morphology of the glandular trichomes, and listed flower visitors of two Mexican bird-pollinated Salvia species (S. blepharophylla and S. greggii), growing in an Italian botanical garden. Flowers were highly variable in their morphometric characteristics. In both species, four trichome morphotypes with similar histochemistry and distribution were documented for leaves and flowers except the calyx abaxial side. The vegetative emission profiles were qualitatively more complex than the floral ones; however, common compounds occurring in high relative percentages were β-caryophyllene and germacrene D. Floral bouquets were dominated by limonene and β-pinene in S. greggii and by 1,8-cineole in S. blepharophylla. Two potential (non-bird) pollinators were especially abundant: small bees belonging to the genus Lasioglossum and large bees belonging to the species Xylocopa violacea. Our study highlights the plasticity of these plants, as well as tools that can be conveniently used to establish novel interactions.

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