| Title: | Chemical Attraction of Gall Midge Pollinators (Cecidomyiidae: Cecidomyiinae) to Anthurium acutangulum (Araceae) |
| Author(s): | Etl F; Francke W; Schonenberger J; Dotterl S; |
| Address: | "Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. florian.etl@univie.ac.at. Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. Department of Botany and Biodiversity Research, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Department of Environment & Biodiversity, Paris Lodron University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria. stefan.doetterl@plus.ac.at" |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10886-022-01349-3 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1573-1561 (Electronic) 0098-0331 (Print) 0098-0331 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Flowering plants often use chemical signals to attract their pollinators, and compounds that elicit attraction are known for several groups of pollinators. For other pollinators such as gall midges, however, compounds responsible for their attraction to flowers are largely unknown. Here, we describe the pollination biology of Anthurium acutangulum, a Neotropical aroid species found to be attractive to gall midges. We collected and analyzed its floral scent by dynamic headspace collections and gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry, and identified compounds responsible for pollinator attraction. The inflorescences were almost exclusively visited by gall midges (females; Cecidomyiidae: Cecidomyiinae) and released a strong scent reminiscent of freshly cut cucumber, mainly (5S,7S)-trans-conophthorin, (E2,Z6)-2,6-nonadienal, and cis-conophthorin. Behavioral assays with the two most abundant compounds identified (E2,Z6)-2,6-nonadienal as being highly attractive to the female gall midge pollinators, whereas (5S,7S)-trans-conophthorin was not attractive. Overall, we introduce a new specialized gall midge pollination system and identify the chemical mediating communication between the pollinators and their host plants" |
| Keywords: | Animals *Araceae/chemistry *Diptera Female Flowers/chemistry Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry Pollination Chemical communication Cucumber aldehyde Flower scent Gall midge Pollination Spiroacetals; |
| Notes: | "MedlineEtl, Florian Francke, Wittko Schonenberger, Jurg Dotterl, Stefan eng 2022/03/09 J Chem Ecol. 2022 Mar; 48(3):263-269. doi: 10.1007/s10886-022-01349-3. Epub 2022 Mar 8" |
