Transgenerational Plasticity in Flower Color Induced by Caterpillars.

Mar Sobral,Eduardo Narbona,Rodolfo Dirzo,Isabelle P Neylan

doi:10.3389/fpls.2021.617815

Abstract

Variation in flower color due to transgenerational plasticity could stem directly from abiotic or biotic environmental conditions. Finding a link between biotic ecological interactions across generations and plasticity in flower color would indicate that transgenerational effects of ecological interactions, such as herbivory, might be involved in flower color evolution. We conducted controlled experiments across four generations of wild radish (Raphanus sativus, Brassicaceae) plants to explore whether flower color is influenced by herbivory, and to determine whether flower color is associated with transgenerational chromatin modifications. We found transgenerational effects of herbivory on flower color, partly related to chromatin modifications. Given the presence of herbivory in plant populations worldwide, our results are of broad significance and contribute to our understanding of flower color evolution.

Highlights

Flower color is a key trait in angiosperm evolution
The probability of producing petal anthocyanins was around 16% in plants coming from mothers who experienced no herbivory whereas it was around 38% in plants whose mothers were attacked by herbivores (Table 1 and Figure 2)
Current and grandmaternal herbivory were not related to flower color and the interactions between generation treatments were not retained in the model

Summary

Introduction

Flower color is a key trait in angiosperm evolution It is one of the most conspicuous traits under natural selection because of its potential role in attracting pollinators, and the subsequent influence on reproductive fitness (Spaethe et al, 2001; Wester and Lunau, 2017). Flower color is commonly related to quality or quantity of floral rewards, such as nectar or pollen (Fenster et al, 2004; Rausher, 2008). This relationship opens up the possibility of evolutionary diversification driven by pollinators acting on flower color variation within a species (Gegear and Burns, 2007; Losada et al, 2015; Sobral et al, 2015; Narbona et al, 2018). Abiotic factors may shape flower color variation (Dalrymple et al, 2020)

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Conclusion