Skip Navigation


AOBPreview originally published online on September 26, 2008
Annals of Botany 2008 102(6):911-922; doi:10.1093/aob/mcn181
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow Supplementary Data
Right arrow ContentSelect
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
102/6/911    most recent
mcn181v1
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Related articles in Ann Bot
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Majetic, C. J.
Right arrow Articles by Ashman, T.-L.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Majetic, C. J.
Right arrow Articles by Ashman, T.-L.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Majetic, C. J.
Right arrow Articles by Ashman, T.-L.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?


© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

The Impact of Biochemistry vs. Population Membership on Floral Scent Profiles in Colour Polymorphic Hesperis matronalis

Cassie J. Majetic1,2,*, Robert A. Raguso3,4 and Tia-Lynn Ashman1,2

1 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
2 Pymatuning Laboratory of Ecology, University of Pittsburgh, Linesville, PA 16424, USA
3 Department of Biology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
4 Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA

* For correspondence. E-mail cmajetic{at}allegheny.edu

Received: 20 May 2008    Returned for revision: 14 July 2008    Accepted: 5 August 2008    Published electronically: 26 September 2008

Background and Aims: Studies of floral scent evolution often attribute variation in floral scent to differences in pollinator behaviour, ignoring the potential for shared biochemistry between floral scent and floral colour to dictate patterns of phenotypic variation in scent production. To determine the relative effects of shared biochemistry and/or localized population-level phenomena on floral scent phenotype, floral scent composition and emission rate were examined in five wild populations of colour polymorphic Hesperis matronalis (Brassicaceae).

Methods: Floral scent was collected by in situ dynamic headspace extraction on purple and white colour morphs in each of five wild populations. Gas chromatography–mass spectroscopy of extracts allowed determination of floral scent composition and emission rate for all individuals, which were examined by non-metric multidimensional scaling and analysis of variance (ANOVA), respectively, to determine the contributions of floral colour and population membership to scent profile variation.

Key Results: Despite the fact that colour morph means were very similar in some populations and quite different in other populations, colour morphs within populations did not differ from each other in terms of scent composition or emission rate. Populations differed significantly from one another in terms of both floral scent composition and emission rate.

Conclusions: Shared biochemistry alone cannot explain the variation in floral scent phenotype found for H. matronalis. Such a result may suggest that the biochemical association between floral scent and floral colour is complex or dependent on genetic background. Floral scent does vary significantly with population membership; several factors, including environmental conditions, founder effects and genetics, may account for this differentiation and should be considered in future studies.

Key words: Hesperis matronalis, floral scent, floral colour, plant volatiles, population differentiation, scent composition, scent emission rate, terpenoids, aromatics


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?

Related articles in Ann Bot:

ContentSnapshots

Ann Bot 2008 102: NP. [Extract] [Full Text]  

John Bryant takes a closer look at some of this month's Original Articles
J. A. Bryant
Ann Bot 2008 102: NP. [Extract] [Full Text]  



This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 ANN BOT (LOND)Home page
N. J. Vereecken and F. P. Schiestl
On the roles of colour and scent in a specialized floral mimicry system
Ann. Bot., November 1, 2009; 104(6): 1077 - 1084.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.