Article
Plant Sciences
Brian Park, Michael J. Donoghue
Summary: The research focuses on the evolution of sterile marginal flowers (SMFs) in Viburnum. Four origins of SMFs were identified, with three associated with distinctive plant growth patterns influenced by shifts into colder climates. The evolution of SMFs appears to be favored by a combination of shifts into colder climates and the evolution of branching patterns that increase the overall apparency of the floral display.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PLANT SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Wen Wang, Xiaojie Zhu, Yu Zhang, Huawei Gao, Zeru Zhang, Chunyan Yang, Yuhong Zheng, Qianqian Yu, Yixin Zhu, Yating Geng, Shulei Wang, Like Liu
Summary: The value of a novel soybean male-sterile mutation ms(LC)01 was assessed in this study, revealing its favorable outcrossing properties. The effects of different planting arrangements on the pod set characteristics of male-sterile plants were evaluated, along with its impact on other traits. The study provides a foundation for future soybean breeding using this mutant.
Article
Forestry
Riko Komamura, Kohei Koyama, Takeo Yamauchi, Yasuo Konno, Lingshuang Gu
Summary: The study identified the most important pollinators of Cardiocrinum cordatum as the bumblebee, sweat bee, and marmalade hoverfly, while the contribution of a flower-visiting ant species was found to be small. The research also highlighted the need for more information on flower-visiting species to accurately assess pollination contribution.
Article
Ecology
Jaakko O. S. Soininen, Kytoeviita Minna-Maarit
Summary: Sexual dimorphism refers to the different morphologies expressed between sexes of a species. In this study, we observed the pollination behavior of hermaphrodite and female flowers in a gynodioecious plant species and found that female flowers were more likely to receive pollen from multiple pollinator groups. This suggests that floral size dimorphism may increase the reproductive functions of females and hermaphrodites and potentially drive the population towards dioecy.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Changqing Gao, Leilei He, Wentai Fang, Zhenchao Wu, Hanhui Jiang, Rui Li
Summary: A robot for precision pollination of kiwifruit flowers in orchard was developed and validated through field experiments, demonstrating its efficient pollination capability and pollen-saving advantage.
COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS IN AGRICULTURE
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Casper J. van der Kooi
Summary: Floral pigments play a crucial role in determining flower colors, with an intermediate amount of pigment found to yield the highest color contrast according to an optical model. This finding is consistent with previous behavioral experiments on bees, suggesting that the optimal amount of pigment is essential for maximizing visibility to pollinators. The study also discusses the implications for plant-pollinator signaling, intraspecific flower color variation, and the associated costs of flower color.
FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sarah E. J. Arnold, Jan-Hendrik Dudenhoeffer, Michelle T. Fountain, Katie L. James, David R. Hall, Dudley Farman, Felix L. Waeckers, Philip C. Stevenson
Summary: Caffeine, a widely occurring plant defense chemical found in the nectar of some plants, influences pollinator behavior and enhances pollination. Bees fed caffeine form longer lasting olfactory memory and are more likely to revisit caffeinated targets, suggesting caffeine can improve memory and act as a reward for these insects.
Article
Plant Sciences
Doekele G. Stavenga, Hein L. Leertouwer, Bettina Dudek, Casper J. van der Kooi
Summary: The absorption spectra of flavonoid pigments in flowers are pH-dependent, with different flowers showing distinct color changes at varying pH levels, suggesting a role of cellular pH in flower coloration. Anthocyanins in red poppy and Mandevilla flowers exhibit a bathochromic shift at higher pH, while nudicaulin derivatives in M. cambrica do not show this wavelength change, highlighting the importance of pH in modulating flower coloration. These findings have implications for studies on flower color evolution.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Sophie Nadot, Laetitia Carrive
Summary: Flowers, the flagship structure of angiosperms, show a beautiful diversity of forms and colors that play a key role in attracting pollinators and ensuring the reproductive success of flowering plants. The evolutionary and genetic mechanisms behind flower color shifts have been described in several taxa, providing insights into the processes that have shaped the diversity of flowering plants.
Article
Ecology
Alisha Rajbhandari, Kevin Matteson, Emma Katz, Gretchen LeBuhn, Elizabeth Johnson
Summary: In this study, four years of citizen science data was used to analyze bee visitation to flowers in New York City. The research found that five bees were observed in 63% of the observations, with bumble bees being the most commonly observed bee morphotype. Community gardens had the highest bee visitation rate, followed by parks, private gardens, and rooftops/terraces. The 500 m buffer scale was found to be the most informative in analyzing the factors affecting bee visitation.
LANDSCAPE AND URBAN PLANNING
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Akira Armando Wong Sato, Makoto Kato
Summary: Framed inflorescences with decorative flowers play a significant role in increasing pollination chances by attracting more pollinators, although not all Viburnum species possess this inflorescence structure. Other species likely use alternative mechanisms to enhance attraction, such as high flowering synchrony within a cluster of fertile flowers.
PLANT SPECIES BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Mario Vallejo-Marin, Carlos Eduardo Pereira Nunes, Avery Leigh Russell
Summary: The joined anther cones in buzz-pollinated species have been found to cause increased vibrations and pollen release. The development of anther fusion is independent across different species and genetic mechanisms, and the functional significance of joined anther cones needs further investigation.
Article
Biology
Tamar Keasar, Odile Pourtallier, Eric Wajnberg
Summary: The emergence of animal societies is a major evolutionary transition, and in this study, the researchers explored how and why bees acquire new foraging techniques and whether eusociality facilitates this shift. The results suggest that social bees, particularly long-lived colonies with abundant foragers, are more likely to learn and exploit complex flowers.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Robert F. Bode, Maria Breznau, Kaylen Furut
Summary: In the invasive plant Scotch broom, the less-attractive red-flowered phenotype persists because the reduction in male fitness is not matched by a reduction in female fitness.
Article
Ecology
Jonas Schoelynck, Petra De Block, Eva Van Dyck, Julia Cooke
Summary: The accumulation of silicon in flowers varies among different plant groups, suggesting a potential relationship between silicon accumulation and flower function and pollination strategy.
ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Elizabeth L. Spriggs, Caroline Schlutius, Deren A. Eaton, Brian Park, Patrick W. Sweeney, Erika J. Edwards, Michael J. Donoghue
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2019)
Article
Plant Sciences
Claudia Paetzold, Kenneth R. Wood, Deren A. R. Eaton, Warren L. Wagner, Marc S. Appelhans
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2019)
Article
Ecology
Deren A. R. Eaton
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2020)
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Deren A. R. Eaton, Isaac Overcast
Article
Microbiology
Arthur S. Kim, Ofer Zimmerman, Julie M. Fox, Christopher A. Nelson, Katherine Basore, Rong Zhang, Lorellin Durnell, Chandni Desai, Christopher Bullock, Sharon L. Deem, Jonas Oppenheimer, Beth Shapiro, Ting Wang, Sara Cherry, Carolyn B. Coyne, Scott A. Handley, Michael J. Landis, Daved H. Fremont, Michael S. Diamond
CELL HOST & MICROBE
(2020)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Ignacio Quintero, Michael J. Landis
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Michael J. Landis, Deren A. R. Eaton, Wendy L. Clement, Brian Park, Elizabeth L. Spriggs, Patrick W. Sweeney, Erika J. Edwards, Michael J. Donoghue
Summary: The study utilized a comprehensive model to analyze the evolutionary history of the Viburnum clade, indicating that the major lineages evolved during the Eocene, while most extant species originated since the Miocene. Viburnum first radiated in warm, evergreen forests in Asia, with subsequent movements into tropical forests and those experiencing prolonged freezing.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Mariana P. Braga, Michael J. Landis, Soren Nylin, Niklas Janz, Fredrik Ronquist
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Evolutionary Biology
Michael Landis, Erika J. Edwards, Michael J. Donoghue
Summary: The spatial distribution of biomes has changed considerably over time, affecting the opportunities for evolutionary lineages to shift between different biomes. A phylogenetic biome shift model was developed to study how lineages shift between biomes and regions, with results suggesting a warm temperate or tropical origin for a specific plant genus. The model highlights the importance of considering dynamic geographical opportunities in inferring ancestral biomes compatible with Earth's history.
SYSTEMATIC BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Ecology
Mariana P. Braga, Niklas Janz, Soren Nylin, Fredrik Ronquist, Michael J. Landis
Summary: The study reveals that as pierids gained new hosts and re-colonized ancestral hosts, it promoted a phase transition in network structure. Combining network analysis with Bayesian inference of host-repertoire evolution proves effective in understanding changes in complex species interactions over time.
Article
Ecology
Carrie M. Tribble, William A. Freyman, Michael J. Landis, Jun Ying Lim, Joelle Barido-Sottani, Bjorn Tore Kopperud, Sebastian Hoehna, Michael R. May
Summary: RevGadgets is an R package designed to create publication-quality figures from various phylogenetic analyses conducted in RevBayes, with a demonstration on common use cases and ongoing development to aid researchers in understanding and communicating analysis results.
METHODS IN ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Michael J. Landis, Ignacio Quintero, Martha M. Munoz, Felipe Zapata, Michael J. Donoghue
Summary: Geographical features have an impact on species dispersal, extinction, and speciation. This study uses a Bayesian hierarchical modeling framework to transform regional features into evolutionary rates. The results show that distance between regions affects dispersal rates and speciation rates.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Ignacio Quintero, Michael J. Landis, Walter Jetz, Helene Morlon
Summary: The difference in species abundance between the tropics and the extra tropics is a major pattern in biogeography. Understanding the processes that regulate this diversity gradient is a challenge. By using spatiotemporal phylogenetic and paleontological models, we found that both extinctions in the extra tropics and outflow of tropical species contribute to shaping biodiversity. These dynamics accurately predict present-day levels of species richness across latitudes.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2023)