Floral scent evolution in the section Pseudophrys: pollinator-mediated selection or phylogenetic constraints?

Field sampling of fig pollinator wasps across host species and host developmental phase: Implications for host recognition and specificity

Previous genetic studies of pollinator wasps associated with a community of strangler figs (Ficus subgenus Urostigma, section Americana) in Central Panama suggest that the wasp species exhibit a range in host specificity across their host figs. To better understand factors that might contribute to this observed range of specificity, we used sticky traps to capture fig-pollinating wasp individuals at 13 Ficus species, sampling at different phases of the reproductive cycle of the host figs (e.g., trees with receptive inflorescences, or vegetative trees, bearing only leaves). We also sampled at other tree species, using them as non-Ficus controls. DNA barcoding allowed us to identify the wasps to species and therefore assign their presence and abundance to host fig species and the developmental phase of that individual tree. We found: (1) wasps were only very rarely captured at non-Ficus trees; (2) nonetheless, pollinators were captured often at vegetative individuals of some host species; (3) overwhelmingly, wasp individuals were captured at receptive host fig trees representing the fig species from which they usually emerge. Our results indicate that wasp occurrence is not random either spatially or temporally within the forest and across these hosts, and that wasp specificity is generally high, both at receptive and vegetative host trees. Therefore, in addition to studies that show chemicals produced by receptive fig inflorescences attract pollinator wasps, we suggest that other cues (e.g., chemicals produced by the leaves) can also play a role in host recognition. We discuss our results in the context of recent findings on the role of host shifts in diversification processes in the Ficus genus.

The volatile chemistry of orchid pollination

Covering: up to September 2022Orchids are renowned not only for their diversity of floral forms, but also for their many and often highly specialised pollination strategies. Volatile semiochemicals play a crucial role in the attraction of a wide variety of insect pollinators of orchids. The compounds produced by orchid flowers are as diverse as the pollinators they attract, and here we summarise some of the chemical diversity found across orchid taxa and pollination strategies. We focus on compounds that have been experimentally demonstrated to underpin pollinator attraction. We also highlight the structural elucidation and synthesis of a select subset of important orchid pollinator attractants, and discuss the ecological significance of the discoveries, the gaps in our current knowledge of orchid pollination chemistry, and some opportunities for future research in this field.

Morphological Continua Make Poor Species: Genus-Wide Morphometric Survey of the European Bee Orchids (Ophrys L.)

Despite (or perhaps because of) intensive multidisciplinary research, opinions on the optimal number of species recognised within the Eurasian orchid genus Ophrys range from nine to at least 400. The lower figure of nine macrospecies is based primarily on seeking small but reliable discontinuities in DNA 'barcode' regions, an approach subsequently reinforced and finessed via high-throughput sequencing studies. The upper figure of ca. 400 microspecies reflects the morphological authoritarianism of traditional taxonomy combined with belief in extreme pollinator specificity caused by reliance on pollination through pseudo-copulation, enacted by bees and wasps. Groupings of microspecies that are less inclusive than macrospecies are termed mesospecies. Herein, we present multivariate morphometric analyses based on 51 characters scored for 457 individual plants that together span the full morphological and molecular diversity within the genus Ophrys, encompassing 113 named microspecies that collectively represent all 29 mesospecies and all nine macrospecies. We critique our preferred morphometric approach of accumulating heterogeneous data and analysing them primarily using principal coordinates, noting that our conclusions would have been strengthened by even greater sampling and the inclusion of data describing pseudo-pheromone cocktails. Morphological variation within Ophrys proved to be exceptionally multidimensional, lacking strong directional trends. Multivariate clustering of plants according to prior taxonomy was typically weak, irrespective of whether it was assessed at the level of macrospecies, mesospecies or microspecies; considerable morphological overlap was evident even between subsets of the molecularly differentiable macrospecies. Characters supporting genuine taxonomic distinctions were often sufficiently subtle that they were masked by greater and more positively correlated variation that reflected strong contrasts in flower size, tepal colour or, less often, plant size. Individual macrospecies appear to represent morphological continua, within which taxonomic divisions are likely to prove arbitrary if based exclusively on morphological criteria and adequately sampled across their geographic range. It remains unclear how much of the mosaic of subtle character variation among the microspecies reflects genetic versus epigenetic or non-genetic influences and what proportion of any contrasts observed in gene frequencies can be attributed to the adaptive microevolution that is widely considered to dictate speciation in the genus. Moreover, supplementing weak morphological criteria with extrinsic criteria, typically by imposing constraints on geographic location and/or supposed pollinator preference, assumes rather than demonstrates the presence of even the weakest of species boundaries. Overall, it is clear that entities in Ophrys below the level of macrospecies have insufficiently structured variation, either phenotypic or genotypic, to be resolved into discrete, self-circumscribing ("natural") entities that can legitimately be equated with species as delimited within other less specialised plant genera. Our search for a non-arbitrary (meso)species concept competent to circumscribe an intermediate number of species has so far proven unsuccessful.

Traditional, Therapeutic Uses and Phytochemistry of Terrestrial European Orchids and Implications for Conservation

The Orchidaceae family accounts for about 28,000 species, and most of them are mentioned in the folk medicine of nations around the world. The use of terrestrial orchids in European and Mediterranean regions has been reported since ancient times, but little information is available on their medicinal properties, as well as on their phytochemicals and biological activities. However, plant collection for human use is still listed as one of the main threats for terrestrial orchids, alongside other menacing factors such as wrong habitat management and disturbance to symbionts, such as pollinators and mycorrhizal fungi. Therefore, the primary aim of this review was to resume and discuss available information regarding the past and current popular uses of European orchids. We then grouped phytochemical data to evaluate the presence of bioactive compounds of pharmacological relevance, and we discussed whether these could support the therapeutic employment of the different organs. Finally, we briefly debated the sustainability of orchid utilizations, considering the different threatening factors and conservation actions including plant propagation methods.

Delimiting species in the taxonomically challenging orchid section Pseudophrys: Bayesian analyses of genetic and phenotypic data

Accurate species delimitation is critical for biodiversity conservation. Integrative taxonomy has been advocated for a long time, yet tools allowing true integration of genetic and phenotypic data have been developed quite recently and applied to few models, especially in plants. In this study, we investigated species boundaries within a group of twelve Pseudophrys taxa from France by analyzing genetic, morphometric and chemical (i.e., floral scents) data in a Bayesian framework using the program integrated Bayesian Phylogenetics and Phylogeography (iBPP). We found that these twelve taxa were merged into four species when only genetic data were used, while most formally described species were recognized as such when only phenotypic (either morphometric or chemical) data were used. The result of the iBPP analysis performed on both genetic and phenotypic data supports the proposal to merge Ophrys bilunulata and O. marmorata on the one hand, and O. funerea and O. zonata on the other hand. Our results show that phenotypic data are particularly informative in the section Pseudophrys and that their integration in a model-based method significantly improves the accuracy of species delimitation. We are convinced that the integrative taxonomic approach proposed in this study holds great promise to conduct taxonomic revisions in other orchid groups.

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

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.

A whiff of the future: functions of phenylalanine-derived aroma compounds and advances in their industrial production

Plants produce myriad aroma compounds-odorous molecules that are key factors in countless aspects of the plant's life cycle, including pollinator attraction and communication within and between plants. For humans, aroma compounds convey accurate information on food type, and are vital for assessing the environment. The phenylpropanoid pathway is the origin of notable aroma compounds, such as raspberry ketone and vanillin. In the last decade, great strides have been made in elucidating this pathway with the identification of numerous aroma-related biosynthetic enzymes and factors regulating metabolic shunts. These scientific achievements, together with public acknowledgment of aroma compounds' medicinal benefits and growing consumer demand for natural products, are driving the development of novel biological sources for wide-scale, eco-friendly, and inexpensive production. Microbes and plants that are readily amenable to metabolic engineering are garnering attention as suitable platforms for achieving this goal. In this review, we discuss the importance of aroma compounds from the perspectives of humans, pollinators and plant-plant interactions. Focusing on vanillin and raspberry ketone, which are of high interest to the industry, we present key knowledge on the biosynthesis and regulation of phenylalanine-derived aroma compounds, describe advances in the adoption of microbes and plants as platforms for their production, and propose routes for improvement.

Floral traits differentiate pollination syndromes and species but fail to predict the identity of floral visitors to Castilleja

PREMISE

Animal pollination is critical to plant reproduction and may cause convergent evolution of pollination syndromes. Pollination syndromes in Castilleja have been distinguished based on floral traits and historical observations of floral visitors. Here we addressed these questions: (1) Can pollination syndromes be distinguished using floral morphological traits or volatile organic compound emissions? (2) Is there significant variation in floral traits within a pollination syndrome at the level of populations or species? (3) Do pollination syndromes predict the most frequent floral visitor to Castilleja?

METHODS

Floral traits and visitation were measured for five co-occurring Castilleja species (C. applegatei, C. linariifolia, C. miniata, C. nana, and C. peirsonii), representing three pollination syndromes (bee, fly, and hummingbird), at four sites in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. We used nonmetric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) and multiple linear regressions to address key questions in the differentiation of Castilleja and floral visitors.

RESULTS

Our analyses revealed that both morphological traits and floral VOCs can be used to distinguish between some pollination syndromes and Castilleja species. Morphological traits defined pollination syndromes reliably, but within the hummingbird syndrome, there was also significant variation among populations and species. Pollination syndrome was a poor predictor of visitors to Castilleja.

CONCLUSIONS

Floral trait differentiation among Castilleja individuals reflects both taxonomy and pollination syndromes. Differentiation was generally more evident in morphological traits compared to VOCs. Furthermore, a priori notions of pollination syndromes in this system are overly simplistic and fail to predict which animals most frequently visit Castilleja in natural populations.

Judge it by its shape: a pollinator-blind approach reveals convergence in petal shape and infers pollination modes in the genus Erythrina

PREMISE

Pollinators are thought to exert selective pressures on plants, mediating the evolution of convergent floral shape often recognized as pollination syndromes. However, little is known about the accuracy of using petal shape for inferring convergence in pollination mode without a priori pollination information. Here we studied the genus Erythrina L. as a test case to assess whether ornithophyllous pollination modes (hummingbirds, passerines, sunbirds, or mixed pollination) can be inferred based on the evolutionary analysis of petal shape.

METHODS

We characterized the two-dimensional dissected shape of standard, keel, and wing petals from 106 Erythrina species using geometric morphometrics and reconstructed a phylogenetic tree of 83 Erythrina species based on plastid trnL-F and nuclear ribosomal ITS sequences. We then used two phylogenetic comparative methods based on Ornstein-Uhlenbeck models, SURFACE and l1OU, to infer distinct morphological groups using petal shape and identify instances of convergent evolution. The effectiveness of these methods was evaluated by comparing the groups inferred to known pollinators.

RESULTS

We found significant petal shape differences between hummingbird- and passerine-pollinated Erythrina species. Our analyses also revealed that petal combinations generally provided better inferences of pollinator types than individual petals and that the method and optimization criterion can affect the results.

CONCLUSIONS

We show that model-based approaches using petal shape can detect convergent evolution of floral shape and relatively accurately infer pollination modes in Erythrina. The inference power of the keel petals argues for a deeper investigation of their role in the pollination biology of Erythrina and other bird-pollinated legumes.

Phylogeny and abiotic conditions shape the diel floral emission patterns of desert Brassicaceae species

A key facet of floral scent is diel fluctuations in emission, often studied in the context of plant-pollinator interactions, while contributions of environment and phylogeny remain overlooked. Here, we ask if these factors are involved in shaping temporal variations in scent emission. To that end, we coupled light/dark floral emission measurements of 17 desert Brassicaceae species with environmental and phylogenetic data to explore the individual/combined impacts of these predictors on diel emission patterns. We further investigated these patterns by conducting high-resolution emission measurements in a subset of genetically distant species with contrasting temporal dynamics. While diel shifts in magnitude and richness of emission were strongly affected by genetic relatedness, they also reflect the environmental conditions under which the species grow. Specifically, light/dark emission ratios were negatively affected by an increase in winter temperatures, known to impact both plant physiology and insect locomotion, and sandy soil fractions, previously shown to exert stress that tempers with diel metabolic rhythms. Additionally, the biosynthetic origins of the compounds were associated with their corresponding production patterns, possibly to maximize emission efficacy. Using a multidisciplinary chemical/ecological approach, we uncover and differentiate the main factors shaping floral scent diel fluctuations, highlighting their consequences under changing global climate.

Why are there so many bee-orchid species? Adaptive radiation by intra-specific competition for mnesic pollinators

Adaptive radiations occur mostly in response to environmental variation through the evolution of key innovations that allow emerging species to occupy new ecological niches. Such biological innovations may play a major role in niche divergence when emerging species are engaged in reciprocal ecological interactions. To demonstrate coevolution is a difficult task; only a few studies have confirmed coevolution as driver of speciation and diversification. Herein we review current knowledge about bee orchid (Ophrys spp.) reproductive biology. We propose that the adaptive radiation of the Mediterranean orchid genus Ophrys, comprising several hundred species, is due to coevolutionary dynamics between these plants and their pollinators. We suggest that pollination by sexual swindling used by Ophrys orchids is the main driver of this coevolution. Flowers of each Ophrys species mimic a sexually receptive female of one particular insect species, mainly bees. Male bees are first attracted by pseudo-pheromones emitted by Ophrys flowers that are similar to the sexual pheromones of their females. Males then are lured by the flower shape, colour and hairiness, and attempt to copulate with the flower, which glues pollen onto their bodies. Pollen is later transferred to the stigma of another flower of the same Ophrys species during similar copulation attempts. In contrast to rewarding pollination strategies, Ophrys pollinators appear to be parasitized. Here we propose that this apparent parasitism is in fact a coevolutionary relationship between Ophrys and their pollinators. For plants, pollination by sexual swindling could ensure pollination efficiency and specificity, and gene flow among populations. For pollinators, pollination by sexual swindling could allow habitat matching and inbreeding avoidance. Pollinators might use the pseudo-pheromones emitted by Ophrys to locate suitable habitats from a distance within complex landscapes. In small populations, male pollinators would disperse once they have memorized the local diversity of sexual pseudo-pheromone bouquets or if all Ophrys flowers are fertilized and thus repel pollinators via production of repulsive pheromones that mimic those produced by fertilized female bees. We propose the following evolutionary scenario: Ophrys radiation is driven by strong intra-specific competition among Ophrys individuals for the attraction of species-specific pollinators, which is a consequence of the high cognitive abilities of pollinators. Male bees record the pheromone signatures of kin or of previously courted partners to avoid further copulation attempts, thereby inducing strong selection on Ophrys for variation in odour bouquets emitted by individual flowers. The resulting odour bouquets could by chance correspond to pseudo-pheromones of the females of another bee species, and thus attract a new pollinator. If such pollinator shifts occur simultaneously in several indivuals, pollen exchanges might occur and initiate speciation. To reinforce the attraction of the new pollinator and secure prezygotic isolation, the following step is directional selection on flower phenotypes (shape, colour and hairiness) towards a better match with the body of the pollinator's female. Pollinator shift and the resulting prezygotic isolation is adaptive for new Ophrys species because they may benefit from competitor-free space for limited pollinators. We end our review by proritizing several critical research avenues.

Plants are visited by more pollinator species than pollination syndromes predicted in an oceanic island community

The pollination syndrome concept has provided powerful utility in understanding the evolution and adaptation of floral traits. However, the utility of this conception has been questioned on the grounds that flowers usually attract a broader spectrum of visitors than one might expect. Furthermore, the relationship between plant specialization and floral traits is poorly understood. Here, we examined the applicability of using the pollination syndrome to predict the pollinators of plants on Yongxing Island. We used the species-level specialization of pollination networks to compare the difference of plant ecological specialization among floral traits. The result of full model was not significant, indicating that floral traits did not affect the pollinator functional groups. The five floral traits explained only 22.5% of the pollinator's visitation preference. Our results showed that plants were visited by more pollinator species than pollination syndromes predicted. Plants with restrictive flowers showed higher specialization than those with unrestrictive flowers, while other floral traits exhibited no significant effect on plant specialization. Generalized pollination system on oceanic island might influence the predictive accuracy of pollination syndromes and the relationship between floral traits and plant ecological specialization. Our findings highlighted the utility and limitations of pollination syndromes concept in oceanic island communities.