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Article

Sexual Differences in Eurya loquaiana Dunn Floral Scent and How Pollinators Respond

1
Chongqing Key Laboratory of Plant Resource Conservation and Germplasm Innovation, Institute of Resources Botany, School of Life Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
2
Biotechnology Research Center, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
3
Chongqing Research Center for Low Carbon and Ecological Environment, Chongqing Academy of Science & Technology, Chongqing 401123, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
These authors contributed equally to this work.
Plants 2022, 11(19), 2560; https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11192560
Submission received: 18 August 2022 / Revised: 19 September 2022 / Accepted: 21 September 2022 / Published: 28 September 2022
(This article belongs to the Section Plant Development and Morphogenesis)

Abstract

Eurya plants are usually dioecious or subdioecious with small fragrant flowers. Here, we investigate the floral scent components of the subdioecious species Eurya loquaiana Dunn and how floral scent affects pollinators. Headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC-MS) was used to compare the floral scents of male, female, and hermaphrodite flowers. We also test whether differences in floral scent affect the foraging behaviors of pollinators and describe the flower morphological traits of the three sexes. Twenty-eight floral scent compounds were tentatively identified, and four monoterpenoids were tentatively identified as the most abundant compounds: linalool oxide (pyranoid), linalool, lilac aldehyde, and linalool oxide (furanoid). There were floral scent differences among the sex types, and male flowers were more attractive to pollinators in the wild, even when visual factors were excluded, indicating that pollinators likely distinguish sexual differences by floral scent. In the competition for pollinators, the advantage that male flowers have over female and hermaphrodite flowers can likely be accounted for the differences in floral scent and display size.
Keywords: Eurya; volatile organic compound; SPME-GC-MS; floral scent; subdioecious Eurya; volatile organic compound; SPME-GC-MS; floral scent; subdioecious

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MDPI and ACS Style

Wang, Q.; Ding, B.; Deng, H. Sexual Differences in Eurya loquaiana Dunn Floral Scent and How Pollinators Respond. Plants 2022, 11, 2560. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11192560

AMA Style

Wang Q, Ding B, Deng H. Sexual Differences in Eurya loquaiana Dunn Floral Scent and How Pollinators Respond. Plants. 2022; 11(19):2560. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11192560

Chicago/Turabian Style

Wang, Qian, Bo Ding, and Hongping Deng. 2022. "Sexual Differences in Eurya loquaiana Dunn Floral Scent and How Pollinators Respond" Plants 11, no. 19: 2560. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11192560

APA Style

Wang, Q., Ding, B., & Deng, H. (2022). Sexual Differences in Eurya loquaiana Dunn Floral Scent and How Pollinators Respond. Plants, 11(19), 2560. https://doi.org/10.3390/plants11192560

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