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Floral paedomorphy leads to secondary specialization in pollination of Madagascar Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae)

Floral paedomorphy leads to secondary specialization in pollination of Madagascar Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae)
Floral paedomorphy leads to secondary specialization in pollination of Madagascar Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae)

The traditional evolutionary interpretation of Von Baer's "laws" of embryology is that retention of early developmental forms into adulthood (paedomorphosis) leads to the evolution of simpler or more generalized morphology and ecology. Here we show that paedomorphosis can also be involved in an increase in ecological specialization, in this case of plant-pollinator relationships. A paedomorphic transition from generalized pollination (by several functional types of pollinators) to specialized pollination (by one or a few species in one functional type) occurred in a clade of endemic Madagascar vines (Dalechampia spp., Euphorbiaceae). This evolutionary transition involved staminate flowers that fail to develop "normally," instead holding mature pollen inside virtually unopened, bud-like flowers. This paedomorphic morphology restricts reward access to "buzz-pollinating" bees, including Xylocopa species (carpenter bees), which can remove pollen by sonication. This is one of very few reports of paedomorphic specialization, and, as far as we are aware, the first documented case of a rapid reversal to specialized pollination in a lineage of plants that had previously switched from specialized to generalized pollination in conjunction with dispersing to a new region.

Buzz-pollination, Flower development, Heterochrony, Neoteny
0014-3820
1196-1203
Armbruster, W. Scott
ac83ac4d-e30a-43dd-9af5-f1ec9e21afcb
Lee, Joongku
3b1a8b78-b188-451b-893c-4cdaa6f4b180
Edwards, Mary E.
4b6a3389-f3a4-4933-b8fd-acdfef72200e
Baldwin, Bruce G.
6681a526-5832-4a90-bfd9-73df89c76b75
Armbruster, W. Scott
ac83ac4d-e30a-43dd-9af5-f1ec9e21afcb
Lee, Joongku
3b1a8b78-b188-451b-893c-4cdaa6f4b180
Edwards, Mary E.
4b6a3389-f3a4-4933-b8fd-acdfef72200e
Baldwin, Bruce G.
6681a526-5832-4a90-bfd9-73df89c76b75

Armbruster, W. Scott, Lee, Joongku, Edwards, Mary E. and Baldwin, Bruce G. (2013) Floral paedomorphy leads to secondary specialization in pollination of Madagascar Dalechampia (Euphorbiaceae). Evolution, 67 (4), 1196-1203. (doi:10.1111/evo.12002).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The traditional evolutionary interpretation of Von Baer's "laws" of embryology is that retention of early developmental forms into adulthood (paedomorphosis) leads to the evolution of simpler or more generalized morphology and ecology. Here we show that paedomorphosis can also be involved in an increase in ecological specialization, in this case of plant-pollinator relationships. A paedomorphic transition from generalized pollination (by several functional types of pollinators) to specialized pollination (by one or a few species in one functional type) occurred in a clade of endemic Madagascar vines (Dalechampia spp., Euphorbiaceae). This evolutionary transition involved staminate flowers that fail to develop "normally," instead holding mature pollen inside virtually unopened, bud-like flowers. This paedomorphic morphology restricts reward access to "buzz-pollinating" bees, including Xylocopa species (carpenter bees), which can remove pollen by sonication. This is one of very few reports of paedomorphic specialization, and, as far as we are aware, the first documented case of a rapid reversal to specialized pollination in a lineage of plants that had previously switched from specialized to generalized pollination in conjunction with dispersing to a new region.

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More information

e-pub ahead of print date: 9 November 2012
Published date: April 2013
Keywords: Buzz-pollination, Flower development, Heterochrony, Neoteny

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 448557
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/448557
ISSN: 0014-3820
PURE UUID: 41340b6c-9820-4b74-adfb-ae9680b475d6
ORCID for Mary E. Edwards: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0002-3490-6682

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Date deposited: 26 Apr 2021 18:37
Last modified: 06 Jun 2024 01:40

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Contributors

Author: W. Scott Armbruster
Author: Joongku Lee
Author: Mary E. Edwards ORCID iD
Author: Bruce G. Baldwin

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