Different rewards in female and male flowers can explain the evolution of sexual dimorphism in plants

Sexual dimorphism in a dioecious species with complex, specialist-pollinated flowers

PREMISE

Pollinators with flower constancy and long nectar-feeding organs should favor less or no sexual dimorphism in the individual flowers of dioecious plants. This hypothesis is deduced because such pollinators can discriminate between intersexual flower size differences, and morphological differences between male and female flowers often diminish pollen transfer.

METHODS

We compared floral traits and pollinator behavior between male and female flowers in the hawkmoth-pollinated species, Trichosanthes cucumeroides. In field studies, we removed petal fringes on both sexes and observed pollinators to assess the role of elaborate petal fringes in pollinator attraction and pollination success for each flower sex.

RESULTS

Female flowers had a similar front flower size and fringe extension as male flowers, supporting our hypothesis. In contrast, females allocated fewer resources to floral biomass. Additionally, they had smaller and narrower petal lobes, lower fringe density, shorter tubes with inferior nectar rewards, and lower display size than males, which is inconsistent with the hypothesis. Nocturnal hawkmoths prefer flowers with long fringe extensions. Fringe removal significantly decreased hawkmoth visitations to both female and male flowers but reduced success only in females. A literature survey indicated that female flowers of specialist-pollinated species are similar in size or larger than the males and thus tend to attract more pollinators compared with female flowers of generalist-pollinated species.

CONCLUSIONS

Female flowers have evolved fringe extensions that are similar to those of male flowers, likely increasing pollinator attraction even slightly, and had less biomass in other floral parts and produced less nectar compared with male flowers. Our findings imply that female-biased resource limitation and flower-size sensitivity of pollinators together exert sex-specific selection of floral traits in T. cucumeroides.

Unequal allocation between male versus female reproduction cannot explain extreme vegetative dimorphism in Aulax species (Cape Proteaceae)

Female plants not only flower but also produce resource-rich seeds, fruits, and cones. Thus, it is generally considered that female plants allocate more resources to sexual reproduction than male plants and that this allocation difference can explain vegetative dimorphism, such as greater leaf size in females. We found significant sexual vegetative differences in the dioecious and serotinous species, Aulax umbellata and A. cancellata. Plant height, annual branch length and canopy spread were greater in males whereas leaf size, branch thickness and branch number were greater in females. Sex ratios and basal stem area were, however, equal in the sexes. Equal sex ratios imply equal allocation to sexual reproduction and equal stem areas imply equal resource use and biomass, and thus allocation to vegetative growth. Given equal allocation to reproduction and resource use, we suggest that the vegetative dimorphism is driven by intra-male-competition to be more visually conspicuous to pollinators. This implies that plant architecture is both a vegetative and a reproductive trait.

Diversity of Insect Flower Visitors of Xylopia aromatica (Magnoliales, Annonaceae) in a Brazilian Savanna

Small beetles are important pollinators of Annonaceae whose flower chambers are small and have diurnal and/or nocturnal anthesis. The pollinators of these flowers belong to the families Nitidulidae, Staphylinidae, Chrysomelidae, and Curculionidae. In this study, the first conducted in the Cerrado of Chapada dos Guimarães, Mato Grosso, Brazil, the behavior of the insect flower visitors of Xylopia aromatica was observed, in both the field and the laboratory. The chambers of 253 flowers were collected from 11 plants, and the biological aspects of their visitors were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The most abundant visitors were thrips and beetles. Coleoptera was represented by four morphospecies occurring frequently in the floral chambers (>70% of individuals). Among beetles, one species belonged to Nitidulidae (Cillaeinae, Conotelus sp. 1) and two belonged to Staphylinidae (Aleocharinae sp. 1 and Aleocharinae sp. 2). These three morphospecies of small elongate beetles have setae where pollen may adhere. In addition, they were present on both male and female phases of the flowers, indicating potential cross-pollination. In the study area, X. aromatica possesses mixed pollination promoted by Thysanoptera and small Nitidulidae and Staphylinidae beetles. This study brings the first record of Lamprosomatinae (Chrysomelidae) and, especially, of Conotelus (Nitidulidae) in the flower chambers of X. aromatica, with new information on behavior of floral visitors coupled with their morphological traits that may promote cross-pollination in this plant species.

High rates of evolution preceded shifts to sex-biased gene expression in Leucadendron, the most sexually dimorphic angiosperms

Differences between males and females are usually more subtle in dioecious plants than animals, but strong sexual dimorphism has evolved convergently in the South African Cape plant genus Leucadendron. Such sexual dimorphism in leaf size is expected largely to be due to differential gene expression between the sexes. We compared patterns of gene expression in leaves among 10 Leucadendron species across the genus. Surprisingly, we found no positive association between sexual dimorphism in morphology and the number or the percentage of sex-biased genes (SBGs). Sex bias in most SBGs evolved recently and was species specific. We compared rates of evolutionary change in expression for genes that were sex biased in one species but unbiased in others and found that SBGs evolved faster in expression than unbiased genes. This greater rate of expression evolution of SBGs, also documented in animals, might suggest the possible role of sexual selection in the evolution of gene expression. However, our comparative analysis clearly indicates that the more rapid rate of expression evolution of SBGs predated the origin of bias, and shifts towards bias were depleted in signatures of adaptation. Our results are thus more consistent with the view that sex bias is simply freer to evolve in genes less subject to constraints in expression level.

Intraspecific relationships between floral signals and rewards with implications for plant fitness

Within-species variation in traits such as petal size or colour often provides reliable information to pollinators about the rewards offered to them by flowers. In spite of potential disadvantages of allowing pollinators to discriminate against less-rewarding flowers, examples of informative floral signals are diverse in form and widely distributed across plant taxa, apparently having evolved repeatedly in different lineages. Although hypotheses about the adaptive value of providing reward information have been proposed and tested in a few cases, a unified effort to understand the evolutionary mechanisms favouring informative floral signals has yet to emerge. This review describes the diversity of ways in which floral signals can be linked with floral rewards within plant species and discusses the constraints and selective pressures on floral signal-reward relationships. It focuses particularly on how information about floral rewards can influence pollinator behaviour and how those behavioural changes may, in turn, affect plant fitness, selecting either for providing or withholding reward information. Most of the hypotheses about the evolution of floral signal-reward relationships are, as yet, untested, and the review identifies promising research directions for addressing these considerable gaps in knowledge. The advantages and disadvantages of sharing floral reward information with pollinators likely play an important role in floral trait evolution, and opportunities abound to further our understanding of this neglected aspect of floral signalling.

How to be a dioecious fig: Chemical mimicry between sexes matters only when both sexes flower synchronously

In nursery pollination mutualisms, which are usually obligate interactions, olfactory attraction of pollinators by floral volatile organic compounds (VOCs) is the main step in guaranteeing partner encounter. However, mechanisms ensuring the evolutionary stability of dioecious fig-pollinator mutualisms, in which female fig trees engage in pollination by deceit resulting in zero reproductive success of pollinators that visit them, are poorly understood. In dioecious figs, individuals of each sex should be selected to produce odours that their pollinating wasps cannot distinguish, especially since pollinators have usually only one choice of a nursery during their lifetime. To test the hypothesis of intersexual chemical mimicry, VOCs emitted by pollen-receptive figs of seven dioecious species were compared using headspace collection and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis. First, fig-flower scents varied significantly among species, allowing host-species recognition. Second, in species in which male and female figs are synchronous, intersexual VOC variation was not significant. However, in species where figs of both sexes flower asynchronously, intersexual variation of VOCs was detectable. Finally, with one exception, there was no sexual dimorphism in scent quantity. We show that there are two ways to use scent to be a dioecious fig based on differences in flowering synchrony between the sexes.

Interspecific and Intersexual Differences in the Chemical Composition of Floral Scent inGlochidionSpecies (Phyllanthaceae) in South China

Plants of theGlochidion(Phyllanthaceae) genus are pollinated exclusively by host-specificEpicephala(Gracillariidae) moths. Floral scent has been thought to play key role in the obligate pollination mutualism betweenGlochidionplants andEpicephalamoths, but few studies have been reported about chemical variation in floral volatiles ofGlochidionspecies in China. Floral volatiles of male and female flowers of fiveGlochidionspecies in south China were collected by dynamic headspace absorption technique and then were chemically analyzed by using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. A total of 69 compounds were identified from floral scents of five investigated species.Glochidion hirsutumandG.zeylanicumshowed no qualitative differences in floral scent, whereas there were clear variations of floral scent among other species (G. eriocarpum,G.daltonii, andG. sphaerogynum) and also they distinctly differed from these two species. Male flowers emitted significantly more scent than female flowers.Glochidionplants exhibited qualitative and quantitative differences in floral scent between two sexes of flowers. The findings suggest that the volatile variation of floral scent amongGlochidionspecies reflects adaptations to specific pollinators. Sexual dimorphism in floral scent has evolved to signal alternative rewards provided by each sex toEpicephalamoths.

Active pollination favours sexual dimorphism in floral scent

Zoophilous flowers often transmit olfactory signals to attract pollinators. In plants with unisexual flowers, such signals are usually similar between the sexes because attraction of the same animal to both male and female flowers is essential for conspecific pollen transfer. Here, we present a remarkable example of sexual dimorphism in floral signal observed in reproductively highly specialized clades of the tribe Phyllantheae (Phyllanthaceae). These plants are pollinated by species-specific, seed-parasitic Epicephala moths (Gracillariidae) that actively collect pollen from male flowers and pollinate the female flowers in which they oviposit; by doing so, they ensure seeds for their offspring. We found that Epicephala-pollinated Phyllanthaceae plants consistently exhibit major qualitative differences in scent between male and female flowers, often involving compounds derived from different biosynthetic pathways. In a choice test, mated female Epicephala moths preferred the scent of male flowers over that of female flowers, suggesting that male floral scent elicits pollen-collecting behaviour. Epicephala pollination evolved multiple times in Phyllantheae, at least thrice accompanied by transition from sexual monomorphism to dimorphism in floral scent. This is the first example in which sexually dimorphic floral scent has evolved to signal an alternative reward provided by each sex, provoking the pollinator's legitimate altruistic behaviour.

Pollen limitation and Allee effect related to population size and sex ratio in the endangered Ottelia acuminata (Hydrocharitaceae): implications for conservation and reintroduction

Small populations may suffer more severe pollen limitation and result in Allee effects. Sex ratio may also affect pollination and reproduction success in dioecious species, which is always overlooked when performing conservation and reintroduction tasks. In this study, we investigated whether and how population size and sex ratio affected pollen limitation and reproduction in the endangered Ottelia acuminata, a dioecious submerged species. We established experimental plots with increasing population size and male sex ratio. We observed insect visitation, estimated pollen limitation by hand-pollinations and counted fruit set and seed production per fruit. Fruit set and seed production decreased significantly in small populations due to pollinator scarcity and thus suffered more severe pollen limitation. Although frequently visited, female-biased larger populations also suffered severe pollen limitation due to few effective visits and insufficient pollen availability. Rising male ratio enhanced pollination service and hence reproduction. Unexpectedly, pollinator preferences did not cause reduced reproduction in male-biased populations because of high pollen availability. However, reproductive outputs showed more variability in severe male-biased populations. Our results revealed two component Allee effects in fruit set and seed production, mediated by pollen limitation in O. acuminata. Moreover, reproduction decreased significantly in larger female-biased populations, increasing the risk of an Allee effect.

Pollinators' mating rendezvous and the evolution of floral advertisement

Successful cross-fertilization in plant species that rely on animal pollinators depends not just on the number of pollinator visits, but also on these visits' duration. Furthermore, in non-deceptive pollination, a visit's duration depends on the magnitude of the reward provided to the pollinator. Accordingly, plants that rely on biotic pollination have to partition their investment in cross-fertilization assurance between attracting pollinator visits - advertisement, and rewarding visitors to assure that the visit is of productive duration. Here we analyze these processes by a combination of optimality methods and game theoretical modeling. Our results indicate that the optimality in such allocation of resources depends on the types of reward offered to the pollinators. More precisely, we show that plants that offer both food reward and mating rendezvous to pollinators will evolve to allocate a higher proportion of their cross-fertilization assurance budget to advertisement than plants that offer only food reward. That is, our results indicate that pollinators' mating habits may play a role in floral evolution.

Sexual dimorphism in flowering plants

Among dioecious flowering plants, females and males often differ in a range of morphological, physiological, and life-history traits. This is referred to as sexual dimorphism, and understanding why it occurs is a central question in evolutionary biology. Our review documents a range of sexually dimorphic traits in angiosperm species, discusses their ecological consequences, and details the genetic and evolutionary processes that drive divergence between female and male phenotypes. We consider why sexual dimorphism in plants is generally less well developed than in many animal groups, and also the importance of sexual and natural selection in contributing to differences between the sexes. Many sexually dimorphic characters, including both vegetative and flowering traits, are associated with differences in the costs of reproduction, which are usually greater in females, particularly in longer-lived species. These differences can influence the frequency and distribution of females and males across resource gradients and within heterogeneous environments, causing niche differences and the spatial segregation of the sexes. The interplay between sex-specific adaptation and the breakdown of between-sex genetic correlations allows for the independent evolution of female and male traits, and this is influenced in some species by the presence of sex chromosomes. We conclude by providing suggestions for future work on sexual dimorphism in plants, including investigations of the ecological and genetic basis of intraspecific variation, and genetic mapping and expression studies aimed at understanding the genetic architecture of sexually dimorphic trait variation.

Sex-specific volatile compounds influence microarthropod-mediated fertilization of moss

Sexual reproduction in non-vascular plants requires unicellular free-motile sperm to travel from male to female reproductive structures across the terrestrial landscape. Recent data suggest that microarthropods can disperse sperm in mosses. However, little is known about the chemical communication, if any, that is involved in this interaction or the relative importance of microarthropod dispersal compared to abiotic dispersal agents in mosses. Here we show that tissues of the cosmopolitan moss Ceratodon purpureus emit complex volatile scents, similar in chemical diversity to those described in pollination mutualisms between flowering plants and insects, that the chemical composition of C. purpureus volatiles are sex-specific, and that moss-dwelling microarthropods are differentially attracted to these sex-specific moss volatile cues. Furthermore, using experimental microcosms, we show that microarthropods significantly increase moss fertilization rates, even in the presence of water spray, highlighting the important role of microarthropod dispersal in contributing to moss mating success. Taken together, our results indicate the presence of a scent-based 'plant-pollinator-like' relationship that has evolved between two of Earth's most ancient terrestrial lineages, mosses and microarthropods.

Sex-specific variation in the interaction between Distichlis spicata (Poaceae) and mycorrhizal fungi

Associations between mycorrhizal fungi and plants can influence intraspecific competition and shape plant population structure. While variation in plant genotypes is known to affect mycorrhizal colonization in crop systems, little is known about how genotypes affect colonization in natural plant populations or how plant sex might influence colonization with mycorrhizal fungi in plant species with dimorphic sexual systems. In this study, we analyzed mycorrhizal colonization in males and females of the wetland dioecious grass Distichlis spicata, which has spatially segregated sexes. Our results suggest that D. spicata males and females interact with mycorrhizal fungi differently. We discuss the implications for the role of this sex-specific symbiotic interaction in the maintenance of the within-population sex ratio bias of D. spicata.

Darwin's beautiful contrivances: evolutionary and functional evidence for floral adaptation

Although not 'a professed botanist', Charles Darwin made seminal contributions to understanding of floral and inflorescence function while seeking evidence of adaptation by natural selection. This review considers the legacy of Darwin's ideas from three perspectives. First, we examine the process of floral and inflorescence adaptation by surveying studies of phenotypic selection, heritability and selection responses. Despite widespread phenotypic and genetic capacity for natural selection, only one-third of estimates indicate phenotypic selection. Second, we evaluate experimental studies of floral and inflorescence function and find that they usually demonstrate that reproductive traits represent adaptations. Finally, we consider the role of adaptation in floral diversification. Despite different diversification modes (coevolution, divergent use of the same pollen vector, pollinator shifts), evidence of pollination ecotypes and phylogenetic patterns suggests that adaptation commonly contributes to floral diversity. Thus, this review reveals a contrast between the inconsistent occurrence of phenotypic selection and convincing experimental and comparative evidence that floral traits are adaptations. Rather than rejecting Darwin's hypotheses about floral evolution, this contrast suggests that the tempo of creative selection varies, with strong, consistent selection during episodes of diversification, but relatively weak and inconsistent selection during longer, 'normal' periods of relative phenotypic stasis.

Direct and Indirect Effects of a Sex‐Biased Antagonist on Male and Female Fertility: Consequences for Reproductive Trait Evolution in a Gender‐Dimorphic Plant

Gender-dimorphic plants are often subject to sex-differential enemy attack, but whether and how this contributes to trait evolution is unknown. To address this gap, we documented the spatiotemporal prevalence of sex-biased weevil damage in a gynodioecious strawberry. We then conducted path analysis to evaluate the direct and indirect pathways for weevils to affect female and male fertility and to mediate selection in two experimental gardens. Direct effects of weevils significantly reduced fertility and mediated selection on reproductive traits, even in the nonpreferred sex (females). Weevils significantly reduced floral display size in hermaphrodites in both gardens, and this translated into a substantial negative indirect effect on male fertility in the garden where the pathway to fertility via display was stronger. Thus, indirect effects of weevils can contribute to selection in hermaphrodites, which gain the majority of their fitness via male function. Our results also indicate that weevils often play a larger role than pollinators in shaping reproductive phenotype and thus raise the intriguing possibility that antagonists may be drivers of sexual dimorphism. Finally, our results support the view that mutualists, antagonists, and the abiotic environment should be considered when attempting to understand reproductive trait evolution in gender-dimorphic species.

Inter- and Intraspecific Variation in Floral Scent in the Genus Salix and its Implication for Pollination

The floral scent composition of 32 European and two Asian Salix L. species (Salicaceae) was analyzed. Intra- and interspecific variation was compared for a subset of 8 species. All Salix species are dioecious and floral scent was collected from both male and female individuals by using a dynamic headspace MicroSPE method, and analyzed by GC-MS. A total of 48 compounds were detected, most of them being isoprenoids and benzenoids. Commonly occurring compounds included trans-beta-ocimene, cis-beta-ocimene, benzaldehyde, D-limonene, alpha-pinene, cis-3-hexenyl aceatate, linalool, 1,4-dimethoxybenzene, and beta-pinene. Two compounds, 1,4-dimethoxybenzene and trans-beta-ocimene, were responsible for most of the interspecific variation. In a subset of eight extensively sampled species, six had a characteristic floral scent composition; half of the pairwise species comparisons confirmed significant differences. In three of these eight species, intraspecific variability could be explained by sex differences. Variation in Salix floral scent may provide specific signals that guide pollinators and thus contribute to the reproductive isolation of compatible and cooccurring species.