Pollen advertisement: chemical contrasts between whole-flower and pollen odors

Odors of pollen and whole flowers were compared in taxonomically unrelated species that offer pollen as the only food reward to pollinators. Volatiles were collected using headspace adsorption and analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The odor of pollen was found to be chemically dis...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	American journal of botany 1996-07, Vol.83 (7), p.877-885
Main Authors:	Son, Heidi E. M. Dob, Groth, Inga, Bergström, Gunnar
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	acide gras acidos grasos analisis cuantitativo analyse quantitative Botany Bumblebees chemical composition Chemicals compose volatil composicion quimica composition chimique compuesto volatil fatty acids Filipendula fleur flores flower fragrance Flowers Flowers & plants Honey bees Insect pollination Invited Special Paper Lupinus odeur odor contrasts Odors olor Papaver Petals Plants polen polinizacion polinizadores Pollen Pollinating insects Pollination pollinators pollinisateur pollinisation quantitative analysis reproduccion sexual reproduction sexuee rosaceae sexual reproduction smell suecia suede sweden volatile compounds volatiles
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Summary:	Odors of pollen and whole flowers were compared in taxonomically unrelated species that offer pollen as the only food reward to pollinators. Volatiles were collected using headspace adsorption and analyzed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The odor of pollen was found to be chemically distinct from the total flower odor, and this pollen-odor distinctness varied among the three species. In Papaver rhoeas (Papaveraceae), the contrast between pollen and whole-flower odors was most subtle, with differences observed only in the proportions of individual volatiles (almost exclusively aliphatic hydrocarbons). In Filipendula vulgaris (Rosaceae), pollen volatiles were fewer than in the flowers (comprising mainly benzenoids and fatty-acid derivatives) and their relative proportions produced an odor dominated by 2-heptadecanone that contrasted strikingly with the flower odor dominated by 2-phenyl ethanol. In Lupinus polyphyllus (Fabaceae), the pollen odor contained fewer volatiles and in differing proportions than the flower fragrance (comprising almost exclusively isoprenoids). The findings add to earlier chemical evidence of odor contrasts between pollen and other flower pans in two other species. Drawing on information from pollination studies of these various species, it is suggested that pollen odor is used by pollen-foraging insects both to discriminate between plant species and to assess reward availability in individual flowers, and that it might in addition serve a protective function against destructive flower-feeding insects and pathogens.
ISSN:	0002-9122 1537-2197