Poster: Late and Moved Abstracts
Abs #
1436: Floral scent of Arabidopsis lyrata (Brassicaceae)
The genus Arabidopsis, with 9 species and 5 subspecies, is endemic to the northern hemisphere. The species Arabidopsis lyrata is divided into 3 subspecies. Volatiles previously identified from A. thaliana include terpenoids, alcohols, aldehydes, methyl salicylate, and green leaf volatiles released during herbivory or wounding. Floral scent volatiles of A. thaliana contain traces of fatty acid degradation products and hydrocarbons. Arabidopsis arenosa flowers have been described as fragrant or scented; however, the compounds were not identified. Floral scent in A. lyrata has not been described previously. Including this study, floral scent of two species of the genus has been analyzed chemically, revealing distinctive profiles. The floral scent of A. thaliana is not detectable to the human nose; the scent of the A. lyrata flowers is sweet, reminiscent of hyacinths, and uniform among the plants in the Friedensville, PA population. Analysis of floral scent in other populations of A. lyrata, and other Arabidopsis species may provide additional chemotaxonomic characters. This is the first report of floral volatiles containing benzenoid compounds in the genus Arabidopsis. This suggests that these two species may provide a model system to study the evolution of mating systems based on the lack of floral scent in the self-fertile A. thaliana, which diverged from its nearest relative five million years ago, and its presence in the self-incompatible A. lyrata. At the mine site in Friedensville, PA, the authors have noted small wild bees pollinating the obligate out-crosser A. lyrata; the Karner blue butterfly is one of its pollinators in Indiana Dunes, IN, while small flies and humans serve as pollinators in the greenhouse.
Biochem Syst & Ecol 31: 1193-1195, 2003
