SGER: The Role of Pollen Scent in Sex-biased Herbivory

虽然不仅传粉者，而且敌人(食草动物/病原体)都能促进植物花卉进化的观点得到了越来越多的认可，但捕食在植物育种系统进化中所起的作用目前尚不清楚。然而，有充分的证据表明，不同性别的植物代表着食草动物的二态资源基础。相对于没有雄性功能的植物，草食动物优先取食具有雄性功能的植物(即雌性植物)，这表明草食动物可能根据花粉产生来选择寄主植物，更具体地说，可能被花粉气味所吸引。这一假设将通过描述雌性和两性野生草莓的花香、花粉和营养气味，以及确定带花粉的有性形态特有的气味是否会吸引象甲来检验。这些数据将评估象甲对寄主植物进行性别偏向选择的机制，从而有助于发展关于草食在育种系统进化中的作用的假说。此外，通过阐明花香在吸引食草动物方面的作用，这项研究可能会提出一种替代使用杀虫剂来控制食草病的方法。

0075711AshmanWhile the idea that not only pollinators, but also enemies (herbivores/pathogens), can contribute to plant floral evolution is gaining acceptance, the role predation plays in plant breeding system evolution is currently unknown. Yet there is ample evidence that plants with separate sexes represent a dimorphic resource base for herbivores. Herbivores preferentially feed on plants with male function relative to those lacking male function (i.e., female plants) suggesting that herbivores may select host plants based on pollen production and, more specifically, may be attracted to pollen scent. This hypothesis will be tested by characterizing floral, pollen, and vegetative scents of female and hermaphrodite wild strawberry and by determining if weevils are attracted to scents specific to the pollen-bearing sexual morph. These data will evaluate a mechanism for sex-biased selection of host plants by weevils and thus will be instrumental in the development of hypotheses concerning the role of herbivory in breeding system evolution. Moreover, by elucidating the role of floral scent in attracting herbivores this research may suggest an alternative to the use of pesticides for controlling herbivory.