Partner choice through concealed floral sugar rewards evolved with the specialization of ant-plant mutualisms
© 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust.
| Veröffentlicht in: | The New phytologist. - 1979. - 211(2016), 4 vom: 09. Sept., Seite 1358-70 |
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| 1. Verfasser: | |
| Weitere Verfasser: | , , |
| Format: | Online-Aufsatz |
| Sprache: | English |
| Veröffentlicht: |
2016
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| Zugriff auf das übergeordnete Werk: | The New phytologist |
| Schlagworte: | Journal Article Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't animal-plant interactions ant-plant mutualisms mutualism maintenance partner choice symbioses Plant Nectar Sugars Sucrose |
| Zusammenfassung: | © 2016 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2016 New Phytologist Trust. Obligate mutualisms require filtering mechanisms to prevent their exploitation by opportunists, but ecological contexts and traits facilitating the evolution of such mechanisms are largely unknown. We investigated the evolution of filtering mechanisms in an epiphytic ant-plant symbiotic system in Fiji involving Rubiaceae and dolichoderine ants, using field experiments, metabolomics, X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) scanning and phylogenetics. We discovered a novel plant reward consisting of sugary sap concealed in post-anthetic flowers only accessible to Philidris nagasau workers that bite through the thick epidermis. In five of the six species of Rubiaceae obligately inhabited by this ant, the nectar glands functioned for 10 d after a flower's sexual function was over. Sugar metabolomics and field experiments showed that ant foraging tracks sucrose levels, which only drop at the onset of fruit development. Ontogenetic analyses of our focal species and their relatives revealed a 25-fold increase in nectary size and delayed fruit development in the ant-rewarding species, and Bayesian analyses of several traits showed the correlated evolution of sugar rewards and symbiosis specialization. Concealed floral nectar forestalls exploitation by opportunists (generalist ants) and stabilizes these obligate mutualisms. Our study pinpoints the importance of partner choice mechanisms in transitions from facultative to obligate mutualisms |
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| Beschreibung: | Date Completed 26.01.2018 Date Revised 30.09.2020 published: Print-Electronic CommentIn: New Phytol. 2016 Sep;211(4):1150-1. - PMID 27485902 Citation Status MEDLINE |
| ISSN: | 1469-8137 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/nph.13990 |