Specialization in plant pollination systems can arise from traits that function as filters of flower visitors. This may involve chemical traits such as floral volatiles that selectively attract favoured visitors and non-volatile nectar constituents that selectively deter disfavoured visitors through taste or longer-term toxic effects or both. We explored the functions of floral chemical traits in the African milkweed Gomphocarpus physocarpus, which is pollinated almost exclusively by vespid wasps, despite having nectar that is highly accessible to other insects such as honeybees. We demonstrated that the nectar of wasp-pollinated G. physocarpus contains cardenolides that had greater toxic effects on Apis mellifera honeybees than on Vespula germanica wasps, and also reduced feeding rates by honeybees. Behavioural experiments using natural compositions of nectar compounds showed that these interactions are mediated by non-volatile nectar chemistry. We also identified volatile compounds with acetic acid as a main component in the floral scent of G. physocarpus that elicited electrophysiological responses in wasp antennae. Mixtures of these compounds were behaviourally effective for attraction of V. germanica wasps. The results show the importance of both volatile and non-volatile chemical traits as filters that lead to specialization in plant pollination systems.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.246156 | DOI Listing |
Front Plant Sci
December 2024
Key Laboratory of National Forestry and Grassland Administration on Biodiversity Conservation in Karst Mountainous Areas of Southwestern China, School of Life Science, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, Guizhou, China.
Introduction: Flower color polymorphism is often attributed to selection pressures from Q9 pollinators or other non-pollinator stress factors. Generally, flower color polymorphism demonstrates effective acclimatization linked to either pollinator-mediated selection or pleiotropic effects.
Methods: To test these hypotheses in Ophiorrhiza japonica, we compared pollinator visitation frequencies and plant traits between pink and white morphs in Shibing, a dolomite Karst region recognized as a World Natural Heritage Site.
Theranostics
January 2025
State Key Laboratory of Physical Chemistry of Solid Surfaces, College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Innovation Laboratory for Sciences and Technologies of Energy Materials of Fujian Province (IKKEM), Xiamen University, Xiamen 361005, China.
The metabolism of cancer and immune cells plays a crucial role in the initiation, progression, and metastasis of cancer. Cancer cells often undergo metabolic reprogramming to sustain their rapid growth and proliferation, along with meeting their energy demands and biosynthetic needs. Nevertheless, immune cells execute their immune response functions through the specific metabolic pathways, either to recognize, attack, and eliminate cancer cells or to promote the growth or metastasis of cancer cells.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Sci Food Agric
December 2024
Department of Soil Science, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Guilan, Rasht, Iran.
Background: Relatively few studies have explored the impact of biofertilizers on the qualitative and quantitative yield of saffron despite its global agricultural and medical importance. This study aimed to evaluate the physiological and phytochemical responses of saffron to potassium (K), phosphorus (P), and iron-zinc (Fe-Zn) biofertilizers over 2 consecutive years (2022-2023). The treatments included single and combined applications of K, P, and Fe-Zn biofertilizers containing active bacterial inoculum, along with a control group, resulting in a total of eight treatments.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPlant Cell Rep
December 2024
Floriculture Lab, Agrotechnology Division, CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, (CSIR-IHBT), Palampur, H.P., 176061, India.
Everlastin1 and Everlastin2, potent inhibitors of EPH1, were identified through a wheat cell-free chemical-screening system. This innovative platform enables the development of small molecules that target 'undruggable' transcription factors. By specifically targeting the EPH1 pathway, these inhibitors delay petal senescence, extending the longevity and quality of ornamental flowers.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNat Commun
December 2024
Living Systems Institute, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter, Devon, EX4 4QD, UK.
The radical pair mechanism accounts for the magnetic field sensitivity of a large class of chemical reactions and is hypothesised to underpin numerous magnetosensitive traits in biology, including the avian compass. Traditionally, magnetic field sensitivity in this mechanism is attributed to radical pairs with weakly interacting, well-separated electrons; closely bound pairs were considered unresponsive to weak fields due to arrested spin dynamics. In this study, we challenge this view by examining the FAD-superoxide radical pair within cryptochrome, a protein hypothesised to function as a biological magnetosensor.
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