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Floral Aroma and Pollinator Relationships in Two Sympatric Late-Summer-Flowering Mediterranean Asparagus Species

This research delves into plant–pollinator relationships within the Mediterranean region, focusing on two synchronous and sympatric asparagus species: A. acutifolius and A. albus. For the first time, the floral scents of the genus Asparagus are reported. We investigate the volatile organic compounds...

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Autores principales: Llorens, Leonardo, Tomàs, Joan, Ferriol, Pere, García, María Trinitat, Gil, Lorenzo
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10537274/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37765383
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants12183219
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author Llorens, Leonardo
Tomàs, Joan
Ferriol, Pere
García, María Trinitat
Gil, Lorenzo
author_facet Llorens, Leonardo
Tomàs, Joan
Ferriol, Pere
García, María Trinitat
Gil, Lorenzo
author_sort Llorens, Leonardo
collection PubMed
description This research delves into plant–pollinator relationships within the Mediterranean region, focusing on two synchronous and sympatric asparagus species: A. acutifolius and A. albus. For the first time, the floral scents of the genus Asparagus are reported. We investigate the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in their floral scents and their impact on pollinator attraction. Captured flower-emitted VOCs underwent solid-phase microextraction of headspace (SPME-HS) and gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The investigation confirms distinctive aroma profiles for each species. A. albus predominantly emits benzene derivatives and sesquiterpenes, while A. acutifolius is characterized by carotenoid derivatives, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes. The only shared compounds between the two species are the sesquiterpenes (Z,E)-α-farnesene and (E,E)-α-farnesene. A positive correlation links peak floral aroma intensity (benzenoids in A. albus and ionones in A. acutifolius) with a higher pollinator visit frequency, emphasizing the critical role of intense floral scents in pollinator attraction. The study of reproductive aspects reveals almost complete gynodioecy in A. acutifolius, influencing unique dynamics for the two species. These adaptations hold significant importance within the Mediterranean ecosystem, particularly during the late dry summer period, when a limited number of plant species vie for a shared primary pollinator.
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spelling pubmed-105372742023-09-29 Floral Aroma and Pollinator Relationships in Two Sympatric Late-Summer-Flowering Mediterranean Asparagus Species Llorens, Leonardo Tomàs, Joan Ferriol, Pere García, María Trinitat Gil, Lorenzo Plants (Basel) Article This research delves into plant–pollinator relationships within the Mediterranean region, focusing on two synchronous and sympatric asparagus species: A. acutifolius and A. albus. For the first time, the floral scents of the genus Asparagus are reported. We investigate the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) present in their floral scents and their impact on pollinator attraction. Captured flower-emitted VOCs underwent solid-phase microextraction of headspace (SPME-HS) and gas chromatography and mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The investigation confirms distinctive aroma profiles for each species. A. albus predominantly emits benzene derivatives and sesquiterpenes, while A. acutifolius is characterized by carotenoid derivatives, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes. The only shared compounds between the two species are the sesquiterpenes (Z,E)-α-farnesene and (E,E)-α-farnesene. A positive correlation links peak floral aroma intensity (benzenoids in A. albus and ionones in A. acutifolius) with a higher pollinator visit frequency, emphasizing the critical role of intense floral scents in pollinator attraction. The study of reproductive aspects reveals almost complete gynodioecy in A. acutifolius, influencing unique dynamics for the two species. These adaptations hold significant importance within the Mediterranean ecosystem, particularly during the late dry summer period, when a limited number of plant species vie for a shared primary pollinator. MDPI 2023-09-10 /pmc/articles/PMC10537274/ /pubmed/37765383 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants12183219 Text en © 2023 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Llorens, Leonardo
Tomàs, Joan
Ferriol, Pere
García, María Trinitat
Gil, Lorenzo
Floral Aroma and Pollinator Relationships in Two Sympatric Late-Summer-Flowering Mediterranean Asparagus Species
title Floral Aroma and Pollinator Relationships in Two Sympatric Late-Summer-Flowering Mediterranean Asparagus Species
title_full Floral Aroma and Pollinator Relationships in Two Sympatric Late-Summer-Flowering Mediterranean Asparagus Species
title_fullStr Floral Aroma and Pollinator Relationships in Two Sympatric Late-Summer-Flowering Mediterranean Asparagus Species
title_full_unstemmed Floral Aroma and Pollinator Relationships in Two Sympatric Late-Summer-Flowering Mediterranean Asparagus Species
title_short Floral Aroma and Pollinator Relationships in Two Sympatric Late-Summer-Flowering Mediterranean Asparagus Species
title_sort floral aroma and pollinator relationships in two sympatric late-summer-flowering mediterranean asparagus species
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10537274/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37765383
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/plants12183219
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