A Semivolatile Floral Scent Marks the Shift to a Novel Pollination System in Bromeliads

Milet‐Pinheiro, Paulo; Domingos‐Melo, Arthur; Olivera, João B.; Albuquerque, Nayara Silva Lins de; Costa, Ana Carolina Galindo da; Albuquerque-Lima, Sinzinando; Silva, Marcelo F.R.; Navarro, Daniela; Maia, Artur Campos Dália; Gundersen, Lise‐Lotte; Schubert, Mario; Dötterl, Stefan; Machado, Isabel Cristina

doi:10.1016/j.cub.2020.11.012

Cited by 14 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 68 publications

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“…There are, however, a few examples of plants offering nectar and scent as rewards for pollinators, such as the bromeliads Cryptanthus dianae Leme (Siqueira Filho & Machado 2008) and C. burle‐marxii Leme (Milet‐Pinheiro et al . 2020). In other cases, such as in the food (nectar) deceptive Galeandra Lindley, Chaubardia Zeitung (Berlin) and Cochleanthes Schult.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollination of the strongly scented Sarcoglottis acaulis (Orchidaceae) by male orchid bees: nectar as resource instead of perfume

et al. 2021

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The Neotropical orchid genus Sarcoglottis comprises ~40 species, which emit strong floral scents, presumably involved in pollinator attraction. Information on basic aspects of its natural history is scant, with the few studies available so far pointing to nectar‐seeking orchid bees as pollinators. Here, we investigated the reproductive biology of Sarcoglottis acaulis, addressing the ecological meaning of its floral scent. In Atlantic Forest fragments of NE Brazil, we described the floral biology, determined the breeding system and recorded the pollinators of S. acaulis. Additionally, we chemically characterized its floral scent and assessed its role on pollinator attraction. Although self‐compatible, S. acaulis depends on pollinators to boost fruit set. Male orchid bees of Eulaema atleticana and E. niveofasciata were the only recorded pollinators. They foraged for nectar only, in spite of the strong scent emitted by S. acaulis flowers. The floral scent is composed of six compounds, of which geraniol and nerol elicited electroantennographic responses in Eulaema bees. A synthetic mixture of these compounds attracted Eulaema bees in field assays but did not trigger the stereotyped scent‐gathering behaviour. The floral scent of S. acaulis acts in signalling and nectar is the sole reward for pollinators. Despite the low pollinator frequency, S. acaulis shows a high fruit set (77%), particularly when compared to other orchids. Attributes such as pollinia that release small pollen loads, allowing a single pollinia‐carrying bee to pollinate several flowers, low amount of nectar, steady‐state flowering and traplining behaviour of pollinators, might act together to assure this outstanding fruit set.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollination of the strongly scented Sarcoglottis acaulis (Orchidaceae) by male orchid bees: nectar as resource instead of perfume

et al. 2021

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“…Usually, contaminants can be identified due to their presence in ambient controls (see Section "Compound filtering"), but contamination may be specific to a faulty tube, pump or vial. Although novel floral volatiles are identified each year (e.g., Maia et al, 2019;Milet-Pinheiro et al, 2021), by now there is a clear sense of what kinds of compounds can be produced by flowers. Investigators new to floral scent analysis should be skeptical of phthalates, silanes or squalene (in tubing), xylenes or halogenated phenols (in solvents), as well as nonanal and decanal (human skin contaminants; see Supplementary material 3).…”

Section: Compound Identification and Removal Of Contaminantsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An analytical pipeline to support robust research on the ecology, evolution, and function of floral volatiles

Eisen

Powers²,

Raguso³

et al. 2022

Front. Ecol. Evol.

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Research on floral volatiles has grown substantially in the last 20 years, which has generated insights into their diversity and prevalence. These studies have paved the way for new research that explores the evolutionary origins and ecological consequences of different types of variation in floral scent, including community-level, functional, and environmentally induced variation. However, to address these types of questions, novel approaches are needed that can handle large sample sizes, provide quality control measures, and make volatile research more transparent and accessible, particularly for scientists without prior experience in this field. Drawing upon a literature review and our own experiences, we present a set of best practices for next-generation research in floral scent. We outline methods for data collection (experimental designs, methods for conducting field collections, analytical chemistry, compound identification) and data analysis (statistical analysis, database integration) that will facilitate the generation and interpretation of quality data. For the intermediate step of data processing, we created the R package bouquet, which provides a data analysis pipeline. The package contains functions that enable users to convert chromatographic peak integrations to a filtered data table that can be used in subsequent statistical analyses. This package includes default settings for filtering out non-floral compounds, including background contamination, based on our best-practice guidelines, but functions and workflows can be easily customized as necessary. Next-generation research into the ecology and evolution of floral scent has the potential to generate broadly relevant insights into how complex traits evolve, their genomic architecture, and their consequences for ecological interactions. In order to fulfill this potential, the methodology of floral scent studies needs to become more transparent and reproducible. By outlining best practices throughout the lifecycle of a project, from experimental design to statistical analysis, and providing an R package that standardizes the data processing pipeline, we provide a resource for new and seasoned researchers in this field and in adjacent fields, where high-throughput and multi-dimensional datasets are common.

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“…is often believed to be the basis of selection for pollinators [ 7 , 8 ]. Plants employ floral color [ 9 , 10 ], floral scent [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], or floral shape [ 14 , 15 , 16 ] to attract pollinators. Thus, studies on pollination signals are very important for understanding plant–pollinator interactions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Functional Differentiation of Floral Color and Scent in Gall Midge Pollination: A Study of a Schisandraceae Plant

Gan

Wang

2022

Plants

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Gall midges are among the most host-specific insects. Their interactions with plants likely date back to the Cretaceous period. Plants from at least seven families are involved in gall midge pollination; however, little is known about the pollination signals of gall midges. In this study, we used a Resseliella–Schisandra model to investigate the roles of floral scent and color in attracting gall midges. Field observations, behavioral bioassays via Y-tubes, and “flight box” experiments were performed. The results demonstrated that gall midges may be attracted by both floral scent and color and that two flower signals are more effective in promoting insect flower-landing than either alone. In the field, gall midges visited male flowers effectively at night but almost always visited female flowers during the day. Thus, during the Resseliella–Schisandra interactions, female flowers predominantly employed visual cues over scent to attract midges during the day; in contrast, olfactory cues were more functional for male flowers to export pollen in the dark. In this study, we first identified the roles of floral color and the functional differentiation of visual and olfactory cues during gall midge pollination.

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A Semivolatile Floral Scent Marks the Shift to a Novel Pollination System in Bromeliads

Cited by 14 publications

References 68 publications

Pollination of the strongly scented Sarcoglottis acaulis (Orchidaceae) by male orchid bees: nectar as resource instead of perfume

Pollination of the strongly scented Sarcoglottis acaulis (Orchidaceae) by male orchid bees: nectar as resource instead of perfume

An analytical pipeline to support robust research on the ecology, evolution, and function of floral volatiles

Functional Differentiation of Floral Color and Scent in Gall Midge Pollination: A Study of a Schisandraceae Plant

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