An ancient push-pull pollination mechanism in cycads

Most cycads engage in brood-site pollination mutualisms, yet the mechanism by which the Cycadales entice pollination services from diverse insect mutualists remains unknown. Here, we characterize a push-pull pollination mechanism between a New World cycad and its weevil pollinators that mirrors the...

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Published inScience advances Vol. 6; no. 24; p. eaay6169
Main Authors Salzman, Shayla, Crook, Damon, Crall, James D, Hopkins, Robin, Pierce, Naomi E
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Association for the Advancement of Science 01.06.2020
Subjects
Organismal Biology
Plant Sciences
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Summary:Most cycads engage in brood-site pollination mutualisms, yet the mechanism by which the Cycadales entice pollination services from diverse insect mutualists remains unknown. Here, we characterize a push-pull pollination mechanism between a New World cycad and its weevil pollinators that mirrors the mechanism between a distantly related Old World cycad and its thrips pollinators. The behavioral convergence between weevils and thrips, combined with molecular phylogenetic dating and a meta-analysis of thermogenesis and coordinated patterns of volatile attraction and repulsion suggest that a push-pull pollination mutualism strategy is ancestral in this ancient, dioecious plant group. Hence, it may represent one of the earliest insect/plant pollination mechanisms, arising long before the evolution of visual floral signaling commonly used by flowering plants.
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Present address: School of Integrative Plant Sciences, Section of Plant Biology, Cornell University, 502 Mann Library, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
These authors share senior authorship.
ISSN:2375-2548
2375-2548
DOI:10.1126/sciadv.aay6169