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Journal article

Asymmetric effects of loss and gain of a floral trait on pollinator preference.

  • Dell'Olivo A Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, Altenbergrain 21, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland.
  • Kuhlemeier C
  • 2013-10-08
Published in:
  • Evolution; international journal of organic evolution. - 2013
Flower color
molecular evolution
near isogenic lines
plant-insect interactions
pollinator preference
transcription factor AN2
Analysis of Variance
Animals
Bees
Behavior, Animal
Biological Evolution
Color
Crosses, Genetic
Flowers
Genes, Regulator
Moths
Petunia
Pollination
Species Specificity
Uruguay
English Shifts in pollination syndromes involve coordinated changes in multiple floral traits. This raises the question of how plants can cope with rapid changes in pollinator availability by the slow process of accumulation of mutations in multiple genes. Here we study the transition from bee to hawkmoth pollination in the genus Petunia. Interspecific crosses followed by single locus introgressions were used to recreate putative intermediate evolutionary stages in the evolution of moth pollination. The effect of the loss/gain of petal color was asymmetric: it had no influence on the established pollinator but enhanced visitation by the new pollinator. Therefore, shifts in pollination syndromes may proceed through intermediate stages of reduced specialization and consequently enhanced reproductive assurance. The loss of petal color in moth-pollinated Petunia involves null mutations in a single regulatory gene, An2. Such simple genetic changes may be sufficiently rapid and frequent to ensure survival during pollinator failure.
Language
  • English
Open access status
bronze
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Persistent URL
https://sonar.ch/global/documents/206320
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