Distribution of calcium oxalate crystals in floral organs of Araceae in relation to pollination strategy
Autor: | Marc Gibernau, Gary G. Coté |
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Přispěvatelé: | Radford University, Sciences pour l'environnement (SPE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Pascal Paoli (UPP) |
Rok vydání: | 2012 |
Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
Insecta Pollination media_common.quotation_subject [SDV]Life Sciences [q-bio] Plant Science Insect medicine.disease_cause 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences Araceae Predation crystal Pollinator Pollen Botany Genetics medicine [SDV.BV]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology Animals Herbivory Inflorescence Ovule Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics media_common Herbivore biology flowers Calcium Oxalate [SDV.BA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Animal biology [SDV.BV.BOT]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Vegetal Biology/Botanics biology.organism_classification beetles defense pollination 010606 plant biology & botany |
Zdroj: | American Journal of Botany American Journal of Botany, Botanical Society of America, 2012, 99 (7), pp.1231-1242. ⟨10.3732/ajb.1100499⟩ |
ISSN: | 1537-2197 0002-9122 |
Popis: | International audience; Premise of the study: Many flowers are pollinated by potentially hungry insects, yet flowers also contain gametes and embryos which must be protected from predation. Microscopic calcium oxalate crystals in plant tissues have been proposed to protect against herbivory. Aroids, which have an unusual diversity of such crystals, also exhibit diverse pollination strategies. Many species have pollinators that do not feed while visiting the flowers, while other species, especially those pollinated by beetles, offer sterile staminodia as food rewards. We examined flowers of 21 aroid species with various pollination strategies to test the hypothesis that crystals protect vital gametes and embryos while allowing consumption of food bribes. Methods: Aroid inflorescences collected from the field or from greenhouse material were sectioned, cleared, and examined by bright field and polarization microscopy. Key results: All species examined, regardless of pollination strategy, arrayed crystals around unshed pollen and ovules. Less vital tissues, such as odoriferous appendages, had few crystals. Staminodia offered as food to beetle pollinators, however, differed greatly between species in their crystal contents. Some had minimal crystals; some had crystals in patterns suggesting they limit beetle feeding; still others had abundant crystals in no obvious pattern. Conclusions: The results are consistent with crystals protecting against insect predation of gametes and embryos. However, the role of crystals in food-bribe staminodia is unclear. They may limit and direct feeding by beetles in some species, while in others they might have no protective role. |
Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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