Post-Graduate Program in Plant Biology, Laboratory of Floral and Reproductive Biology, Botany Department, Federal University of Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.
Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, China.
Plant Biol (Stuttg). 2024 Jan;26(1):28-33. doi: 10.1111/plb.13586. Epub 2023 Oct 20.
Floral scent is a key olfactory cue in both diurnal and nocturnal pollination systems. In the case of nocturnal systems, such as bat-pollinated flowers, odour seems to play a more important role than visual cues. Cactaceae include many bat-pollinated species; however, few studies have investigated the olfactory cues in this family. We analysed and compared the chemical composition of the floral bouquet of three chiropterophilous cactus species, among which are a pair of congeners that differ considerably in scent intensity. Our research presents novel findings regarding the floral scent chemistry of chiropterophilous cactus species. We documented the first case of a bat-pollinated cactus whose flowers lack perceptible floral scent and in which no volatile compounds were detected in our chemical analyses. Additionally, we provide a comprehensive analysis of the chemical composition of the floral bouquet of the other two bat-pollinated species, revealing a resemblance among closely related species within the same genus. We highlight the need for further studies using biotests to investigate the mechanisms through which bats find flowers lacking scent.
花香是昼夜传粉系统中关键的嗅觉线索。对于夜间传粉系统，如蝙蝠传粉的花朵，气味似乎比视觉线索发挥更重要的作用。仙人掌科包括许多蝙蝠传粉的物种；然而，很少有研究调查这个科的嗅觉线索。我们分析和比较了三种蝙蝠传粉仙人掌物种的花束的化学成分，其中包括一对在气味强度上有很大差异的同属近缘种。我们的研究提供了关于蝙蝠传粉仙人掌物种花香化学的新发现。我们记录了第一个蝙蝠传粉的仙人掌的案例，其花朵没有可察觉的花香，在我们的化学分析中也没有检测到挥发性化合物。此外，我们对另外两种蝙蝠传粉物种的花束的化学成分进行了全面分析，揭示了同一属内密切相关的物种之间的相似性。我们强调需要进一步使用生物测试来研究蝙蝠如何找到没有气味的花朵的机制。
