Chemical and morphological filters in a specialized floral mimicry system
| Autor: | Florent Martos, Marie-Louise Cariou, Benny Bytebier, Jacques Fournel, Steven D. Johnson, Thierry Pailler |
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| Rok vydání: | 2014 |
| Předmět: |
food.ingredient
Pollination Physiology media_common.quotation_subject Plant Science Insect Flowers medicine.disease_cause food Pollinator Pollen Botany medicine Animals Scaptodrosophila Orchidaceae Drosophila media_common Volatile Organic Compounds biology Behavior Animal biology.organism_classification Chemical mimicry |
| Zdroj: | The New phytologistReferences. 207(1) |
| ISSN: | 1469-8137 |
| Popis: | Many plant species attract insect pollinators through chemical mimicry of their oviposition sites, often detaining them in a trap chamber that ensures pollen transfer. These plant mimics are considered to be unspecialized at the pollinator species level, yet field observations of a mycoheterotrophic rainforest orchid (Gastrodia similis), which emits an odour reminiscent of rotting fruit, indicate that it is pollinated by a single drosophilid fly species (Scaptodrosophila bangi). We investigated the roles of floral volatiles and the dimensions of the trap chamber in enforcing this specialization, using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses, bioassays and scanning electron microscopy. We showed that G. similis flowers predominantly emit three fatty-acid esters (ethyl acetate, ethyl isobutyrate and methyl isobutyrate) that were shown in experiments to attract only Scaptodrosophila flies. We additionally showed that the trap chamber, which flies enter into via a touch-sensitive 'trapdoor', closely matches the body size of the pollinator species S. bangi and plays a key role in pollen transfer. Our study demonstrates that specialization in oviposition site mimicry is due primarily to volatile chemistry and is reflected in the dimensions of the trapping apparatus. It also indicates that mycoheterotrophic plants can be specialized both on mycorrhizal fungi and insect pollinators. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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