Is there 'anther-anther interference' within a flower? Evidences from one-by-one stamen movement in an insect-pollinated plant.
The selective pressure imposed by maximizing male fitness (pollen dispersal) in shaping floral structures is increasingly recognized and emphasized in current plant sciences. To maximize male fitness, many flowers bear a group of stamens with temporally separated anther dehiscence that prolongs pres...
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2014-01-01
|
| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3903572?pdf=render |
| _version_ | 1818911156383776768 |
|---|---|
| author | Ming-Xun Ren Zhao-Jun Bu |
| author_facet | Ming-Xun Ren Zhao-Jun Bu |
| author_sort | Ming-Xun Ren |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The selective pressure imposed by maximizing male fitness (pollen dispersal) in shaping floral structures is increasingly recognized and emphasized in current plant sciences. To maximize male fitness, many flowers bear a group of stamens with temporally separated anther dehiscence that prolongs presentation of pollen grains. Such an advantage, however, may come with a cost resulting from interference of pollen removal by the dehisced anthers. This interference between dehisced and dehiscing anthers has received little attention and few experimental tests to date. Here, using one-by-one stamen movement in the generalist-pollinated Parnassia palustris, we test this hypothesis by manipulation experiments in two years. Under natural conditions, the five fertile stamens in P. palustris flowers elongate their filaments individually, and anthers dehisce successively one-by-one. More importantly, the anther-dehisced stamen bends out of the floral center by filament deflexion before the next stamen's anther dehiscence. Experimental manipulations show that flowers with dehisced anther remaining at the floral center experience shorter (1/3-1/2 less) visit durations by pollen-collecting insects (mainly hoverflies and wasps) because these 'hungry' insects are discouraged by the scant and non-fresh pollen in the dehisced anther. Furthermore, the dehisced anther blocks the dehiscing anther's access to floral visitors, resulting in a nearly one third decrease in their contact frequency. As a result, pollen removal of the dehiscing anther decreases dramatically. These results provide the first direct experimental evidence that anther-anther interference is possible in a flower, and that the selection to reduce such interferences can be a strong force in floral evolution. We also propose that some other floral traits, usually interpreted as pollen dispensing mechanisms, may function, at least partially, as mechanisms to promote pollen dispersal by reducing interferences between dehisced and dehiscing anthers. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-19T22:54:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cf4bae2a55564c57853f82a419932eac |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-19T22:54:13Z |
| publishDate | 2014-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-cf4bae2a55564c57853f82a419932eac2022-12-21T20:02:42ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0191e8658110.1371/journal.pone.0086581Is there 'anther-anther interference' within a flower? Evidences from one-by-one stamen movement in an insect-pollinated plant.Ming-Xun RenZhao-Jun BuThe selective pressure imposed by maximizing male fitness (pollen dispersal) in shaping floral structures is increasingly recognized and emphasized in current plant sciences. To maximize male fitness, many flowers bear a group of stamens with temporally separated anther dehiscence that prolongs presentation of pollen grains. Such an advantage, however, may come with a cost resulting from interference of pollen removal by the dehisced anthers. This interference between dehisced and dehiscing anthers has received little attention and few experimental tests to date. Here, using one-by-one stamen movement in the generalist-pollinated Parnassia palustris, we test this hypothesis by manipulation experiments in two years. Under natural conditions, the five fertile stamens in P. palustris flowers elongate their filaments individually, and anthers dehisce successively one-by-one. More importantly, the anther-dehisced stamen bends out of the floral center by filament deflexion before the next stamen's anther dehiscence. Experimental manipulations show that flowers with dehisced anther remaining at the floral center experience shorter (1/3-1/2 less) visit durations by pollen-collecting insects (mainly hoverflies and wasps) because these 'hungry' insects are discouraged by the scant and non-fresh pollen in the dehisced anther. Furthermore, the dehisced anther blocks the dehiscing anther's access to floral visitors, resulting in a nearly one third decrease in their contact frequency. As a result, pollen removal of the dehiscing anther decreases dramatically. These results provide the first direct experimental evidence that anther-anther interference is possible in a flower, and that the selection to reduce such interferences can be a strong force in floral evolution. We also propose that some other floral traits, usually interpreted as pollen dispensing mechanisms, may function, at least partially, as mechanisms to promote pollen dispersal by reducing interferences between dehisced and dehiscing anthers.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3903572?pdf=render |
| spellingShingle | Ming-Xun Ren Zhao-Jun Bu Is there 'anther-anther interference' within a flower? Evidences from one-by-one stamen movement in an insect-pollinated plant. PLoS ONE |
| title | Is there 'anther-anther interference' within a flower? Evidences from one-by-one stamen movement in an insect-pollinated plant. |
| title_full | Is there 'anther-anther interference' within a flower? Evidences from one-by-one stamen movement in an insect-pollinated plant. |
| title_fullStr | Is there 'anther-anther interference' within a flower? Evidences from one-by-one stamen movement in an insect-pollinated plant. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Is there 'anther-anther interference' within a flower? Evidences from one-by-one stamen movement in an insect-pollinated plant. |
| title_short | Is there 'anther-anther interference' within a flower? Evidences from one-by-one stamen movement in an insect-pollinated plant. |
| title_sort | is there anther anther interference within a flower evidences from one by one stamen movement in an insect pollinated plant |
| url | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3903572?pdf=render |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT mingxunren isthereantherantherinterferencewithinaflowerevidencesfromonebyonestamenmovementinaninsectpollinatedplant AT zhaojunbu isthereantherantherinterferencewithinaflowerevidencesfromonebyonestamenmovementinaninsectpollinatedplant |