Journal
JOURNAL OF ASIA-PACIFIC ENTOMOLOGY
Volume 20, Issue 3, Pages 914-917Publisher
KOREAN SOC APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY
DOI: 10.1016/j.aspen.2017.06.011
Keywords
Elaiosome; Myrmecochory; Mycoheterotroph; Seed disperser
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Funding
- New Technology Development Foundation [25-02, 26-01]
- JSPS KAKENHI [15K18470]
- Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research [15K18470] Funding Source: KAKEN
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The tiny seeds, or dust seeds, of heterotrophic plants are usually dispersed by wind. However, most mycoheterotrophic plants grow in the understory of densely vegetated forests, where the wind is less reliable and wind dispersal is likely less efficient. In the present study, we found that seeds of the fully mycoheterotrophic plant Sciaphila secundiflora (Triuridaceae) possess elaiosomes, and that at least one species of ant, Nylanderia flavipes, functions as a dispersal agent of the plant's seeds. This is the first demonstration of myrmecochory in mycoheterotrophic plants, as well as the first report of zoochory in Triuridaceae.
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