INVESTIGADORES
GALETTO Leonardo
artículos
Título:
Pollination biology and genetic variability of a giant perfumed flower (Aristolochia gigantea Mart. and Zucc. – Aristolochiaceae) visited mainly by small Diptera.
Autor/es:
HIPOLITO J; FELIPE VIANA B; SELBACH-SCHNADELBACH A; GALETTO L; KEVAN P
Revista:
BOTANY
Editorial:
NATL RESEARCH COUNCIL CANADA-N R C RESEARCH PRESS
Referencias:
Lugar: Otawa; Año: 2012 vol. 15 p. 315 - 327
ISSN:
1916-2790
Resumen:
The genus Aristolochia presents conserved features in its basic structural plan of trap flowers and in its pollinationsyndrome. Visitors, usually flies, are attracted to the rotting-meat scented flowers and remain trapped until the secondday, when the protogynous flowers release them. Aristolochia gigantea Mart. and Zucc showed many of these floral traitsbut display a citronella-like odour, giving the opportunity to study the reproductive ecology in this atypical species. Characteristicsand behavior of pollinators, coupled with the distances between individual plants and populations, are important factorsin patterns of genetic diversity. Thus, our objectives were to study the flower visitors, reproductive success, and geneflow in A. gigantea in the Chapada Diamantina, Bahia, Brazil. Results suggest that pollination by flies remains as a conservedinteraction within the genus Aristolochia. The main pollinators appeared to be Megaselia spp. (Phoridae), evidencedprimarily by the frequency of their occurrence within flowers and the transference of compatible pollen. On the other hand,the moderate to low levels of intrapopulation genetic variability found in A. gigantea, combined with low effective pollinationand its reproductive dependence on biotic vectors, indicate that this species may be suffering gene erosion in the remainingpopulations located at Chapada Diamantina.