Comparative analysis of pollen release biomechanics in <i>Thalictrum</i>: implications for evolutionary transitions between animal and wind pollination

Timerman, David; Barrett, Spencer C. H.

doi:10.1111/nph.15978

Cited by 20 publications

(16 citation statements)

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“…Vibrations play an important role in diverse biological interactions involving plants and animals [1][2][3]. Communication in invertebrates often occurs through vibrations that are transmitted through the substrate, particularly plant structures [4,5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomechanical properties of a buzz-pollinated flower

et al. 2020

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Approximately half of all bee species use vibrations to remove pollen from plants with diverse floral morphologies. In many buzz-pollinated flowers, these mechanical vibrations generated by bees are transmitted through floral tissues, principally pollen-containing anthers, causing pollen to be ejected from small openings (pores or slits) at the tip of the stamen. Despite the importance of substrate-borne vibrations for both bees and plants, few studies to date have characterized the transmission properties of floral vibrations. In this study, we use contactless laser vibrometry to evaluate the transmission of vibrations in the corolla and anthers of buzz-pollinated flowers of Solanum rostratum , and measure vibrations in three spatial axes. We found that floral vibrations conserve their dominant frequency (300 Hz) as they are transmitted throughout the flower. We also found that vibration amplitude at anthers and petals can be up to greater than 400% higher than input amplitude applied at the receptacle at the base of the flower, and that anthers vibrate with a higher amplitude velocity than petals. Together, these results suggest that vibrations travel differently through floral structures and across different spatial axes. As pollen release is a function of vibration amplitude, we conjecture that bees might benefit from applying vibrations in the axes associated with higher vibration amplification.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomechanical properties of a buzz-pollinated flower

et al. 2020

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“…Subtle variation in anther shape can impact pollination biology. For example, in the eudicots Plantago and Thalictrum, anther properties are important in efficient pollen release from anthers (51)(52)(53). In Primula, another eudicot, variation in anther height is critical in the evolution of heterostyly.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evolutionary variation in MADS-box dimerization affects floral development and protein stability

Juárez

Schrager‐Lavelle

Man

et al. 2020

Preprint

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The B-class MADS-box transcription factors STERILE TASSEL SILKY EAR1 (STS1) and SILKY1 (SI1) specify floral organ identity in the grass Zea mays (maize). STS1 and SI1 bind DNA as obligate heterodimers. Obligate heterodimerization between STS1 and SI1 homologs, although common in flowering plants, arose very recently in the grass family. This recent emergence of obligate heterodimerization from STS1 homodimerization provided an opportunity to test the consequences of evolutionary shifts in MADS-box protein-protein interactions. We tested the ability of evolutionary variation in STS1 dimerization to impact floral development, downstream gene regulation, and protein complex formation in maize. We found that STS1 hetero-vs. homodimerization had subtle effects on protein localization and stamen development. In contrast, differential STS1 dimerization resulted in largescale changes to gene expression and protein complex composition. We identified kinases and proteins involved in ubiquitylation as candidate interactors with MADS-box proteins, and found that STS1 was phosphorylated, and in a complex with ubiquitylated proteins. In addition, we found that STS1 homodimers were more abundant than STS1-SI1 heterodimers, independent of RNA levels. Thus, differential dimerization can affect both protein degradation dynamics and combinatorial assembly of MADS-box protein complexes. Our results highlight the robustness of floral development to some molecular change, which may contribute to the evolvability of floral form. Significance StatementInteractions between transcription factors can alter downstream gene expression patterns and, in turn, organismal development. In plants, MADS-box transcription factors specify floral organ identity as part of large complexes. Shifting interactions between MADS-box proteins have been proposed as drivers in the evolution of the flower, and in the diversification of floral form. However, the functional consequences of changes to individual MADS-box protein-protein interactions are unknown. Here, we show that floral development is subtly affected by altered transcription factor protein-protein interactions. We also show that shifting transcription factor interactions can contribute to differential protein degradation. This reveals an important consequence for evolutionary variation in transcription factor interactions, and adds a new layer of complexity to the evolution of developmental gene networks.

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“…Vallejo‐Marín (, in this issue pp. 1068–1074) and Timerman & Barrett (, in this issue pp. 1121–1132) explore pollination within the context of the interaction with bees and wind, respectively.…”

Section: Ecology Of Plant Reproductive Systemsmentioning

confidence: 95%