Chemistry of scented nectar in the black lily Fritillaria camtschatcensis (Liliaceae)

Junnan Li*, Yoko Inui, Ko Mochizuki, Kazuya Takeda, Shoko Sakai, Atsushi Kawakita

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Volatile compounds in floral nectar may affect plant–pollinator relationships; however, the understanding of the distribution and functions of scented floral nectar is still relatively limited. In this study, we examined the volatile constituents of the scented floral nectar of the black lily Fritillaria camtschatcensis and their potential to attract flower-visiting flies. In Japan, F. camtschatcensis comprises two varieties, var. camtschatcensis (lowland) and var. keisukei (alpine). The flowers of both varieties secrete large amounts of nectar that is fed on by visiting flies. We investigated the sugar concentration of the nectar using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and studied its volatile chemical composition using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. We conducted a bioassay using a synthetic mixture of nectar volatiles of the lowland variety to test whether flies are attracted to volatile compounds in the nectar scent. HPLC analysis showed that glucose and fructose occur in the nectar of the alpine variety, whereas the lowland variety nectar contained glucose but lacked fructose. Nectar volatile compounds differed substantially between the two varieties; the volatiles of the lowland variety consisted primarily of four aliphatic acids, whereas acetophenone was the main volatile compound in the alpine variety. The bioassay showed that a mixture of three aliphatic acids detected as volatiles of the lowland variety nectar attracts flies, including those that visit the alpine variety flowers such as Calliphoridae. These results suggest that the volatiles of the scented nectar serve as attractants for flower visitors and may have an important role in the pollination of F. camtschatcensis.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalPlant Species Biology
    DOIs
    Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 6 Oct 2024

    Scopus Subject Areas

    • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
    • Ecology
    • Plant Science

    User-Defined Keywords

    • chemical ecology
    • floral scent
    • fly
    • Fritillaria
    • plant–animal interaction

    Cite this