Abstract
BackgroundThe floral scents of plants play a key role in plant reproduction through the communication between plants and pollinators. Aquilegia as a model species for studying evolution, however, there have been few studies on the floral scents and relationships between floral scents and pollination for Aquilegia taxa.MethodsIn this study, three types of solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) fiber coatings (DVB/PDMS, CAR/PDMS, DVB/CAR/PDMS) were evaluated for their performance in extracting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from flowers of Aquilegia amurensis, which can contribute to the future studies of elucidating the role of floral scents in the pollination process.ResultsIn total, 55 VOCs were identified, and among them, 50, 47 and 45 VOCs were extracted by the DVB/CAR/PDMS fiber, CAR/PDMS fiber and DVB/PDMS fibers, respectively. Only 30 VOCs were detected in A. japonica taxa. Furthermore, the relative contents of 8 VOCs were significant different (VIP > 1 and p < 0.05) between the A. amurensis and A. japonica.ConclusionsThe results can be applied in new studies of the relationships between the chemical composition of floral scents and the processes of attraction of pollinator. It may provide new ideas for rapid evolution and frequent interspecific hybridization of Aquilegia.
Highlights
The floral scents of plants play a key role in plant reproduction through the communication between plants and pollinators
Fiber performance Three kinds of solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME) fibers were used for the SPMEGC/MS full scan analysis of A. amurensis samples
Three types of fiber coatings (DVB/PDMS, CAR/PDMS, DVB/ CAR/PDMS) were evaluated for their performance in absorbing Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which was determined based on the number of chromatographic peaks that they detected, from flowers of columbines
Summary
The floral scents of plants play a key role in plant reproduction through the communication between plants and pollinators. Traits with a large effect on pollinator preference could play an important role in the evolution of plant reproductive isolation and speciation [2,3,4]. A single volatile compound (indole) present in flowers of Ipomosis tenuituba but not its sister species I. aggregata, which can attract hawkmoths to flowers [8]. This information says little, about the relationships between floral scents and pollination, evolution, and phylogeny of Aquilegia taxa. Approximately 1700 chemical compounds identified in floral scent have been isolated from more than 90 plant families [9]. The monoterpenes limonene, (E)-β-ocimene, myrcene, linalool, α- and β-pinene, and the benzenoids benzaldehyde, methyl 2-hydroxybenzoate (methyl salicylate), benzyl alcohol, and 2-phenyl ethanol are most common [10]
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