Determining the Contribution of Epidermal Cell Shape to Petal Wettability Using Isogenic Antirrhinum Lines

Whitney, Heather M.; Poetes, Rosa; Steiner, Ullrich; Chittka, Lars; Glover, Beverley J.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0017576

Cited by 31 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…2009a). Also, the conical cells of petal epidermises facilitate the physical handling of pollinators (Glover & Martin 1998; Whitney et al . 2009b; 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous studies have indicated that the microsculpturing of the epidermal cells of petals influences the optical and adhesive properties of plant tissues (Wagner et al 2003;Pfündel et al 2006;Whitney et al 2011). High-resolution imaging of both the adaxial and the abaxial petal epidermises of O. pes-caprae revealed a relief at the nanometer scale (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Micromorphology of the petals of the invasive weed, Oxalis pes‐caprae

Argiropoulos

Rhizopoulou

2012

Weed Biology and Management

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The alien, seedless Oxalis pes‐caprae has spread and colonized many areas of the Mediterranean Basin, relying on vegetative reproduction. The flowering of O. pes‐caprae is greatly accelerated by its exposure to sunlight. When the sun is shining, both sides of the petals of the funnel‐shaped, open flowers of O. pes‐caprae are exposed to the ambient conditions. In cloudy weather, only some portions of the abaxial petal surfaces of the trumpet‐shaped, closed flowers of O. pes‐caprae are exposed to the ambient conditions. The micromorphology of the petals of O. pes‐caprae was imaged by using light, scanning and atomic force microscopy. In O. pes‐caprae, conical cells are found only on the adaxial epidermis of the petals, which also consist of a narrow mesophyll with a loosely arranged parenchyma and convex cells on their abaxial epidermis. High‐resolution imaging of the petal surfaces, using atomic force microscopy, revealed that the epidermal cells are further ornamented by submicron sculptures, indicating a different roughness, density, and arrangement of the folds between the adaxial and abaxial sides of the petals. Submicron sculpturing increases the surface area of the adaxial epidermal cells of the petals and the distances between the folds are almost equal to the visible waveband. On the abaxial epidermal cells, the distances between the folds are smaller than the subwavelength spectrum. The high and the negligible values of roughness that were obtained on the adaxial and the abaxial surfaces might facilitate the capture and the reflection of light, respectively.

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“…2009a). Also, the conical cells of petal epidermises facilitate the physical handling of pollinators (Glover & Martin 1998; Whitney et al . 2009b; 2011).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Micromorphology of the petals of the invasive weed, Oxalis pes‐caprae

Argiropoulos

Rhizopoulou

2012

Weed Biology and Management

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“…Conical cells have several biological functions related to pollinator attraction, including scent production (Kolosova et al. , 2001; Whitney et al. , 2009a,b, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative levels of Deficiens and Globosa during late petal development show a complex transcriptional network topology of B function

et al. 2012

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Summary The transcriptional network topology of B function in Antirrhinum, required for petal and stamen development, is thought to rely on initial activation of transcription of DEFICIENS (DEF) and GLOBOSA (GLO), followed by a positive autoregulatory loop maintaining gene expression levels. Here, we show that the mutant compacta (co), whose vegetative growth and petal size are affected, plays a role in B function. Late events in petal morphogenesis such as development of conical cell area and scent emissions were reduced in co and def nicotianoides (def nic), and absent in co def nic double mutants, suggesting a role for CO in petal identity. Expression of DEF was down‐regulated in co but surprisingly GLO was not affected. We investigated the levels of DEF and GLO at late stages of petal development in the co, def nic and glo‐1 mutants, and established a reliable transformation protocol that yielded RNAi‐DEF lines. We show that the threshold levels of DEF or GLO required to obtain petal tissue are approximately 11% of wild‐type. The relationship between DEF and GLO transcripts is not equal or constant and changes during development. Furthermore, down‐regulation of DEF or GLO does not cause parallel down‐regulation of the partner. Our results demonstrate that, at late stages of petal development, the B function transcriptional network topology is not based on positive autoregulation, and has additional components of transcriptional maintenance. Our results suggest changes in network topology that may allow changes in protein complexes that would explain the fact that not all petal traits appear early in development.

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“…), reducing petal wettability (Whitney et al . ) and altering overall petal shape by changing the direction of cell expansion in the epidermis (Baumann et al . ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Field trials of Antirrhinum majus showed that when pollinator number limits seed set, plants with conical petal cells set more seed than flat-celled plants (Glover & Martin 1998). There may be many reasons for this, as conical petal cells have diverse effects on a flower, including enhancing colour, slightly increasing floral temperature (Comba et al 2000;Whitney et al 2011a), reducing petal wettability (Whitney et al 2011b) and altering overall petal shape by changing the direction of cell expansion in the epidermis (Baumann et al 2007). Bees are able to use most of these traits as learned indicators of rewards, and some (such as temperature) are traits that a bee will seek out as a reward in itself (Dyer et al 2006;Rands & Whitney 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flower movement increases pollinator preference for flowers with better grip

2012

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Summary1. Conical cells in the petal epidermis are common across many diverse flowering plant species, and it was recently shown that in difficult-to-handle flowers, pollinators prefer conical cells because they increase grip. However, this does not explain the prevalence of conical cells amongst other, simpler, flowers. 2. The movement of objects is an integral part of the world and is of particular importance to bees because the relative motion of objects is essential to a bee's 3D vision. The motion of flowers can increase pollinator attraction; however, it also makes flowers more difficult for a bee to handle. This makes foraging more metabolically expensive. To explore whether conical petal cells make handling moving flowers easier, we tested bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) preference for conical-or flat-celled Petunia (Petunia hybrida) flowers under different conditions of motion. We also used differently coloured Petunia flowers to test how colour and visibility interact with tactile cues to form a pollinator's preferences. 3. Bees preferred to visit conical-celled Petunia flowers except when the conical-celled flowers were harder to detect visually. The bees then favoured flowers that were easier to detect. But when flowers were moving and more difficult to handle, bees always learned to favour conicalcelled flowers, irrespective of visual difficulty. 4. By providing easier handling through better grip from conical cells, the plant can benefit from the natural visual attractant of flowers moving in the wind without losing pollinator preference for easier-to-handle flowers. Bee preference for conical-celled flowers when flowers are moving shows how plants can use conical petal cells to take advantage of an attractant that would otherwise decrease pollinator preference by making handling difficult (movement). The selective pressure from pollinators choosing conical-celled flowers when flowers are moving in the wind provides an explanation for the persistence of conical cells in so many diverse angiosperm species across evolutionary time.

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Determining the Contribution of Epidermal Cell Shape to Petal Wettability Using Isogenic Antirrhinum Lines

Cited by 31 publications

References 26 publications

Micromorphology of the petals of the invasive weed, Oxalis pes‐caprae

Micromorphology of the petals of the invasive weed, Oxalis pes‐caprae

Quantitative levels of Deficiens and Globosa during late petal development show a complex transcriptional network topology of B function

Flower movement increases pollinator preference for flowers with better grip

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