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Phylogenetic history shapes the composition of floral scents in a specialized pollination mutualism
Article de revue scientifique   Open Access   Avec comité de lecture

Phylogenetic history shapes the composition of floral scents in a specialized pollination mutualism

Li Cao, Nina Joffard, Simon Segar, Daniel Souto-Vilarós, Steven Johnson, Bruno Buatois, Anne‐geneviève Bagnères, Martine Hossaert-Mckey et Magali Proffit
New Phytologist, Vol.250(5), p.3428-3443
06/2026
PMCID: PMC13150316
PMID: 41906216

Résumé

pollination phylogeny mutualism floral scents chemical mediation Ficus Pollination Phylogeny Flowers Volatile Organic Compounds Animals Symbiosis Odorants Wasps Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
Most studies of the chemical ecology of plant–pollinator interactions emphasize the role of pollinator‐mediated selection in shaping floral scent composition. Nevertheless, phylogeny may constrain the metabolic pathways underlying these profiles, thereby influencing the evolutionary trajectory of the emitted signals. To investigate whether phylogenetic history constrains plant chemical communication, we used the obligate fig–fig wasp mutualism. We collected floral scents from receptive figs of 32 Ficus species, representing diverse lineages across tropical and subtropical regions, using dynamic headspace extraction. Chemical compositions were analyzed via gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry and evaluated for the phylogenetic signal using multivariate analyses. Our results revealed a strong phylogenetic signal in the volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted by receptive figs. Conversely, using the same analysis, we found no relationship between the scent profile and the pollinator phylogeny. Our findings demonstrate, across diverse Ficus lineages, that phylogenetic constraints play a significant role in the diversification of VOC signals emitted by receptive flowers, suggesting constraints in the biosynthetic pathways of volatile compounds.

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