KNUDSEN, J. T. & TOLLSTEN, L., Trends in floral scent chemistry in pollination syndromes: floral scent composition in moth‐pollinated taxa. Floral scent from 15 moth‐pollinated species in nine families was collected by head‐space adsorption. The chemical composition was determined by coupled gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC‐MS). The typical floral scent of moth‐pollinated flowers contains some acyclic terpene alcohols, their corresponding hydrocarbons, benzenoid alcohols and esters and small amounts of some nitrogen compounds. The floral scent composition of sphingophilous flowers can be distinguished from that of phalaenophilous flowers by the presence of oxygenated sesquiterpenes. The flowers of three of the studied species had the general appearance and floral scent composition of moth‐pollinated flowers, but contained no nectar reward. These species probably rely on deceptive pollination by naive visitors, which are deceived by the similarity of the flowers' morphological and scent chemistry to that of rewarding moth flowers. The finding of similar or structurally closely related floral scent compounds in both temperate and tropical species from both the Old and New worlds suggests that floral scent composition has been selected by a specific group of pollinators, moths that have similar sensory preferences. The functions of floral scent in moth‐pollinated flowers are discussed in relation to an often observed over‐representation of male moth visitors.
The family of Cactaceae consists of around 1500 species in about 100 genera, being mostly leafless trees or shrubs of succulent appearance and often having attractive flowers. In comparison to other families, e.g. Orchidaceae, the flowers of Cactaceae are of a morphologically primitive structure. Nevertheless, they show adaptive traits towards different groups of pollinators. Adaptations are reflected to a certain degree also in their scent composition as illustrated by the selection of analytical data presented in this overview. Special attention is given to night-scented species flowering in most cases only during one night and being pollinated either by moths or by bats. The representatives of the first group show similarities in their scent composition to well-known moth flowers in other families, while the second group is dominated by repulsive garlic or cabbage-like odours caused by large amounts of sulphur-containing compounds such as dimethyl disulphide and methyl thioacetate. Among the scent components of the diurnal species, being pollinated by bees or a mixed spectrum of insects, the musty-earthy smelling dehydrogeosmin and geosmin deserve special attention. Furthermore, some additional structurally and/ or olfactorily interesting constituents occumng in the cacti scents are highlighted.
The chemical composition of floral scent in eight bat-pollinated species belonging to six different plant families was investigated. Floral scent was collected by headspace trapping using porous adsorbents and the chemical composition determined by coupled gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In all species except one the floral scent was found to include sulphur-containing compounds, of which several are reported for the first time in floral scents. Three species contained mushroom-like smelling fatty acid derivatives with a C8-skeleton. Such flowers may be recognized by pollinators as humid environments in otherwise dry surroundings. The presence of similar or chemically closely related sulphur containing compounds in floral scent of bat-pollinated plant species from differing families may represent a case of convergent evolution in scent composition and an adaptation to attract this specific group of pollinators with similar sensory preferences.ADDITIONAL KEY WORDS :-c8-compoundschiropterophily -GC-MShead-space adsorptionnocturnal scent productionsulphur-compounds.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.