What pollinators see does not match what they smell: Absence of color-fragrance association in the deceptive orchid Ionopsis utricularioides

Autor(es)

Bignelli Valente Aguiar, Joao Marcelo Robazzi ^[1] ; Ferreira, Gabriel de Souza ^[2] ; Sanches, Patricia Alessandra ^{[3, 4]} ; Simoes Bento, Jose Mauricio ^[4] ; Sazima, Marlies ^[5]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Programa Posgrad Ecol, BR-13083865 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Eberhard Karls Univ Tubingen, Senckenberg Ctr Human Evolut & Palaeoenvironm HEP, Sigwartstr 10, D-72076 Tubingen - Germany

^[3] Swiss Fed Inst Technol, Dept Environm Syst Sci, CH-8092 Zurich - Switzerland

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Super Agr Luiz de Queiroz ESALQ, Dept Entomol & Acarol, BR-13418900 Piracicaba, SP - Brazil

^[5] Univ Estadual Campinas, Inst Biol, Dept Bot, BR-13083865 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: Phytochemistry; v. 182, FEB 2021.
• Citações Web of Science: 0

Resumo

Many deceptive orchids present variation in floral color and fragrance. This might be advantageous for the plant, as it can disturb the associative avoidance learning of pollinators, promoting more visits to the flowers. Some studies have shown that color and fragrance can be correlated in polymorphic deceptive orchids, but these studies employed color traits based on the human visual system and not the visual perception of pollinators. Thus, we investigated the composition of the floral fragrance of Ionopsis utricularioides (Sw.) Lindl., a polymorphic deceptive orchid, and analyzed possible correlations with the floral color as seen by bees, Apis mellifera L. and Melipona quadrifasciata Lepeletier, using the color hexagon model. We found high color and fragrance intraspecific variation, as expected for deceptive species. However, we found no color-fragrance association in individuals, either by comparing fragrance profiles with the color variable saturation or by comparing them with the placement of individuals in the color hexagon for both bee species. This lack of correlation contradicts the biochemical pathway hypothesis, which proposes that associations between floral color and scent in polymorphic flowers arise from shared biochemical pathways. However, a complete absence of correlation between floral signals is consistent with selection arising through pollinator cognitive ecology. Lack of correlation would increase the floral variability perceived by bees, given their multimodal learning, and this variability could disrupt avoidance learning of deceptive flowers, thus enhancing the efficacy of the plant's deceptive pollination mechanism. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 19/10620-2 - Macroevolução das tartarugas: contribuições de análises quantitativas, paleontologia virtual e biomecânicas
• Beneficiário: Gabriel de Souza Ferreira
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 15/05919-8 - A variação nos atributos florais está relacionada à polinização por engano em orquídeas?
• Beneficiário: João Marcelo Robazzi Bignelli Valente Aguiar
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Doutorado
• Processo FAPESP: 17/18226-6 - Tecnologia para indução automatizada de plantas e sua aplicação na ecologia química
• Beneficiário: Patricia Alessandra Sanches
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Programa Capacitação - Treinamento Técnico
• Processo FAPESP: 14/50871-0 - INCT 2014: Instituto Nacional de Ciência Tecnologia de Semioquímicos na Agricultura
• Beneficiário: José Roberto Postali Parra
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Temático
• Processo FAPESP: 19/20408-0 - Efeito de agrotóxicos no aprendizado e memória de abelhas nativas do Brasil
• Beneficiário: João Marcelo Robazzi Bignelli Valente Aguiar
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado