华北耧斗菜复合体植物花被的表皮细胞类型及其在传粉中的作用

乳突细胞在花传粉过程作用重大，它可提升花色和温度、诱导昆虫访花，在优化花瓣与访花者的特异性互作方面意义深远，或成为进化选择的特征，同时也是花瓣身份的鉴别性指标，至今仍是进化生物学的研究热点。研究发现，毛茛科耧斗菜属的欧耧斗菜花瓣上为扁平细胞，萼片上却为乳突细胞。萼片、乳突细胞、花瓣三者在吸引传粉者中的作用这一进化的关键问题仍然未知。为了探索以上问题，本项目拟以华北耧斗菜复合体3种1变种为研究对象，利用比较形态学、传粉生物学等方法，进行：1)花被表皮细胞形态发育过程和分布特征的观察，2）访花昆虫的行为学观察。望揭示该复合体花被乳突细胞的分布规律，阐明乳突细胞的形态特征、时空变化和分布特点。探讨萼片、乳突细胞和花瓣三者对吸引传粉者的作用和功能，并为花被吸引昆虫过程提供新的视角和证据，为进一步研究毛茛科花被多样性演化历史及其机制打下基础，也为认识被子植物花瓣状花被的适应性机制提供新的见解和思路。

The conical epidermal cells of petal in angiosperms play an important role in the process of flower pollination. They can improve flower color and temperature and attract pollinators to visit flowers, and have profound significance in optimizing the specific interaction between petals and flower visitors. They may be a feature of evolutionary selection and a marker of petal identity. It was reported that the conical cells are found in the sepals of Aquilegia vulgaris. However, no conical cells are found on the epidermis of the petals. The answers to the key evolutionary question of what roles the petaloidy sepals, conical cells, and petals play collaboratively in attracting pollinators remain unknown. In order to investigate the above questions, this project intends to study 3 species and 1 variety of A. yabeana complex using the methods of comparative morphology and pollination biology to conduct: 1) observations on the ontogenetic process of the epidermal cells of the perianth, 2) behavioral observations on the visiting insects. The aim of this study is to reveal the distribution of the perianth conical cells in this complex of plants, and to elucidate the morphological characteristics, spatial and temporal changes, and distribution of the conical cells. We further explore the role and function of sepals, conical cells, and petals on attracting pollinators, provide new perspectives for the process of attracting insects by perianth, set foundation for the further study of the evolutionary history and mechanisms of the perianth diversity in Ranunculaceae, and shed novel insights and directions to the adaptive mechanisms of the petal shaped perianth in angiosperms.