Prokop Pavol, Provazník Zuzana, Tučník Kristián
Department of Environmental Ecology and Landscape Management, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia.
Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta 9, 845 06 Bratislava, Slovakia.
Plants (Basel). 2025 May 11;14(10):1437. doi: 10.3390/plants14101437.
Flower closure is a widespread yet understudied trait that may serve multiple functions in the success of plant reproduction. In this study, we investigated the role of flower closure in protecting pollen from rain-induced loss in lesser celandine ( Huds., 1762), an early-flowering species vulnerable to spring rains. Through simulated and natural rain experiments, we found that the flowers that were prevented from closing retained significantly fewer pollen grains compared to the control flowers. This demonstrates that flower closure effectively protects pollen from rain-induced flushing, thus enhancing reproductive success. Furthermore, flowers that were prevented from closing had fewer viable pollen grains than control flowers. We propose that the evolution of petal movement in was primarily driven by pressures favoring petal movement that protected pollen, with secondary contributions from herbivore avoidance. Flowers are unable to discriminate between low luminosity caused by cloudy weather and night, thus responding to both. Future studies should explore the relative importance of primary and secondary evolutionary drivers of flower closure across species, particularly in early-flowering plants facing complex environmental challenges.
花朵闭合是一种广泛存在但研究不足的性状，它可能在植物繁殖成功中发挥多种功能。在本研究中，我们调查了花朵闭合在保护小毛茛（Ranunculus ficaria L., 1762）花粉免受雨水冲刷方面的作用，小毛茛是一种易受春雨影响的早花物种。通过模拟和自然降雨实验，我们发现与对照花相比，被阻止闭合的花朵保留的花粉粒显著减少。这表明花朵闭合有效地保护花粉免受雨水冲刷，从而提高繁殖成功率。此外，被阻止闭合的花朵比对照花的可育花粉粒更少。我们认为，小毛茛花瓣运动的进化主要是由有利于保护花粉的花瓣运动压力驱动的，其次是来自避免食草动物的作用。花朵无法区分阴天和夜晚引起的低光照度，因此对两者都会做出反应。未来的研究应该探讨跨物种花朵闭合的主要和次要进化驱动因素的相对重要性，特别是在面临复杂环境挑战的早花植物中。
