Strong conservation of floral scent composition in two allopatric yuccas
Author
Summary, in English
Floral scent has been suggested to play a key role in the obligate pollination mutualism between yuccas and yucca moths. We analyzed floral fragrance compounds of Yucca elata with headspace collection followed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, and compared the odor blend with the recently characterized blend of the allopatric Yucca filamentosa. A principal component analysis based on 20 scent compounds revealed that the floral odor bouquets of Y. elata and Y. filamentosa are virtually identical. Although the two plants belong to the same section of capsular-fruited yuccas, they rely on different species of Tegeticula moths for pollination and probably have been allopatric for several million years. Yet, their floral odor blends are very similar, which may indicate that strong selection by obligate pollinators counteracts drift or divergence in this trait.
Department/s
Publishing year
2006
Language
English
Pages
2657-2665
Publication/Series
Journal of Chemical Ecology
Volume
32
Issue
12
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
Springer
Topic
- Zoology
- Biological Sciences
Keywords
- geographic variation
- Y. filamentosa
- floral scent
- Yucca elata
- pollination mutualism
Status
Published
Project
- Chemical ecology of obligate pollination mutualisms
Research group
- Pheromone Group
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1573-1561