Department of Biology and Plant Ecology, Faculty of Biology, University of Bialystok, Ciolkowskiego 1J, 15-245 Bialystok, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 May 11;24(10):8602. doi: 10.3390/ijms24108602.
This article is the next part of a series of studies documenting the influence of flower traits on the reproductive success (RS) of orchids. Knowledge of factors influencing RS helps to understand the mechanisms and processes crucial for shaping plant-pollinator interactions. The aim of the present study was to determine the role of flower structure and nectar composition in shaping the RS of the specialist orchid , which is pollinated by generalist bumblebees. We found a high level of pollinaria removal (PR) and female reproductive success (fruiting, FRS) as well as a high level of variation between populations, although in certain populations pollination efficiency was low. Floral display traits, mainly inflorescence length, influenced FRS in certain populations. Among the flower traits, only the height of flowers was correlated with FRS in one population, suggesting that the flower structure of this orchid is well adapted to pollination by bumblebees. The nectar of is diluted and dominated by hexoses. Sugars were less important in shaping RS than amino acids. At the species level, twenty proteogenic and six non-proteogenic AAs were noted, along with their differentiated amounts and participation in particular populations. We found that distinct AAs or their groups mainly shaped PR, especially when correlations were considered at the species level. Our results suggest that both the individual nectar components and the ratios between them have an impact on RS. Because different nectar components influence the RS parameters in different ways (i.e., negatively or positively), we suggest that different species play the role of main pollinators in distinct populations.
本文是一系列研究的续篇，这些研究记录了花的特征对兰花繁殖成功（RS）的影响。了解影响 RS 的因素有助于理解对植物-传粉者相互作用至关重要的机制和过程。本研究的目的是确定花结构和花蜜成分在塑造由传粉者为熊蜂的兰花 RS 中的作用。我们发现高的花粉移除（PR）和雌性生殖成功（结实，FRS）水平，尽管在某些种群中授粉效率较低，但种群间存在高水平的变异性。花序特征，主要是花序长度，影响了某些种群的 FRS。在花的特征中，只有在一个种群中花的高度与 FRS 相关，这表明这种兰花的花结构很好地适应了熊蜂的授粉。是稀释的，以己糖为主。与氨基酸相比，糖在塑造 RS 方面的重要性较低。在种水平上，注意到了二十种蛋白氨基酸和六种非蛋白氨基酸，以及它们在不同种群中的不同含量和参与情况。我们发现，不同的氨基酸或它们的组合主要影响 PR，尤其是在考虑种水平的相关性时。我们的研究结果表明，花蜜的个别成分及其比例都对 RS 有影响。因为不同的花蜜成分以不同的方式（即负面或正面）影响 RS 参数，所以我们认为不同的兰花物种在不同的种群中扮演着主要传粉者的角色。
