@misc{10481/108844,
year = {2025},
month = {9},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/108844},
abstract = {Premise: Floral pigments primarily serve to attract pollinators through color display
and also contribute to protection against environmental stress. Although pigment
composition can be plastically altered under stress, its impact on pollinator color
perception remains poorly understood. Moricandia arvensis (Brassicaceae) exhibits
seasonal floral dimorphism, with lilac spring flowers and white summer flowers.
This study examines how heat‐driven shifts in floral pigments alter flower color and
its perception by pollinators.
Methods: We conducted a comparative analysis of spring and summer floral morphs
in a natural population by measuring petal spectral reflectance, analyzing absorption
spectra of petal extracts, and modeling floral color in the visual systems of major
pollinator functional groups. Additionally, UHPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS analysis was conducted under controlled conditions to characterize differences in phenolic profiles.
Results: Spring flowers exhibited strong UV reflectance and a reduction in reflectance
in the green spectrum, whereas summer flowers showed no UV reflectance and high
reflectance in the visible range. Anthocyanins were detected only in spring flowers,
while summer flowers accumulated high levels of UV‐absorbing flavonoids. Despite
these differences, both floral morphs remained visually conspicuous to hymenopterans, dipterans, lepidopterans, and coleopterans. Summer flowers produced twice as
many phenolic compounds and accumulated higher concentrations, with ferulic acid
and kaempferol derivatives the most prominent.
Conclusions: White summer flowers of Moricandia arvensis are not merely
anthocyanin‐deficient but exhibit a distinct profile of UV‐absorbing phenolics that may
confer heat tolerance while preserving floral conspicuousness to pollinators. These
findings highlight the role of multifunctional traits in the evolution of flower color.},
organization = {MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 (PID2020‐116222GB‐I00)},
organization = {Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation - EU FEDER funds (PID2021‐
126456NB)},
organization = {Junta de
Andalucía (IE19_238 CSIC‐EEZA)},
organization = {Consejería de Economía, Conocimiento, Empresas y
Universidad (QUALIFICA00011)},
organization = {Universidad Pablo de Olavide / CBUA (open
access publishing)},
publisher = {Wiley Periodicals},
keywords = {Brassicaceae},
keywords = {Chromatic contrast},
keywords = {Flower color},
title = {Heat drastically alters floral color and pigment composition without affecting flower conspicuousness},
doi = {10.1002/ajb2.70096},
author = {Narbona López, Eduardo and Perfectti Álvarez, Francisco and González‐Megías, Adela and Navarro, Luis and del Valle, José and Armas, Cristina and Gómez, José M.},
}