Mammal pollinators lured by the scent of a parasitic plant
To communicate with animals, plants use signals that are distinct from their surroundings. Animals generally learn to use these signals through associative conditioning; however, signals are most effective when they elicit innate behavioural responses. Many plant species have flowers specialized for...
Saved in:
Published in | Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Vol. 278; no. 1716; pp. 2303 - 2310 |
---|---|
Main Authors | , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
England
The Royal Society
07.08.2011
|
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
Cover
Loading…
Summary: | To communicate with animals, plants use signals that are distinct from their surroundings. Animals generally learn to use these signals through associative conditioning; however, signals are most effective when they elicit innate behavioural responses. Many plant species have flowers specialized for pollination by ground-dwelling mammals, but the signals used to attract these pollinators have not been elucidated. Here, we demonstrate the chemical basis for attraction of mammal pollinators to flowers of the dioecious parasitic plant Cytinus visseri (Cytinaceae). Two aliphatic ketones dominate the scent of this species; 3-hexanone, which elicits strong innate attraction in rodents, and 1-hexen-3-one, which repels them in isolation, but not in combination with 3-hexanone. The aliphatic ketone-dominated scent of C. visseri contrasts with those of insect-pollinated plants, which are typically dominated by terpenoids, aromatic or non-ketone aliphatic compounds. 3-hexanone is also known from some bat-pollinated species, suggesting independent evolution of plant signals in derived, highly specialized mammal-pollination systems. |
---|---|
Bibliography: | ArticleID:rspb20102175 ark:/67375/V84-DFJVX8XN-L istex:23B13AEB0568F9A73B762AFEC6A1BB6DED069520 href:rspb20102175.pdf ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 0962-8452 1471-2954 |
DOI: | 10.1098/rspb.2010.2175 |