Jasmonate signaling makes flowers attractive to pollinators and repellant to florivores in nature. Issue 3 (27th December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Li, Ran; Schuman, Meredith C.; Wang, Yang; Llorca, Lucas Cortés; Bing, Julia; Bennion, Anne; Halitschke, Rayko; Baldwin, Ian T.
• Is Part Of: Journal of integrative plant biology. Volume 60:Issue 3(2018)
• Page Start: 190
• Page End: 194
• Publication Date: 2017-12-27
• Subjects: Plants -- Periodicals; Plants -- China -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; 580.5
• DOI: 10.1111/jipb.12607
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1672-9072

Abstract

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. Abstract : Flowers advertise for pollinator services with nectar, scent and pigments. These traits also make flowers apparent to florivores and nectar robbers. Our field studies reveal how plants use a universal phytohormone signaling pathway to solve a flower's dilemma that advertisements for pollinator services is perceived by mutualists and antagonists alike.