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Jasmonate signaling makes flowers attractive to pollinators and repellant to florivores in nature
Author(s) -
Li Ran,
Schuman Meredith C.,
Wang Yang,
Llorca Lucas Cortés,
Bing Julia,
Bennion Anne,
Halitschke Rayko,
Baldwin Ian T.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of integrative plant biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.734
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1744-7909
pISSN - 1672-9072
DOI - 10.1111/jipb.12607
Subject(s) - pollinator , jasmonate , biology , pollination , nectar , botany , methyl jasmonate , herbivore , pollen , arabidopsis , gene , biochemistry , mutant
Summary Flowers are required for the Darwinian fitness of flowering plants, but flowers’ advertisements for pollination services can attract florivores. Previous glasshouse work with Nicotiana attenuata revealed the role of jasmonate (JA) signaling in flower development, advertisement and defense. However, whether JA signaling mediates flowers’ filtering of floral visitors in nature remained unknown. This field study revealed that silencing JA signaling resulted in flowers that produce less nectar and benzyl acetone, two pollinator‐attractive traits. Meanwhile, flowers of defenseless plants were highly attacked by a suite of native herbivores, and damage to buds in native plants correlated negatively with their JA‐Ile levels.