Decoding the scent of flowers

February 23, 2022

Evolutionary ecology

Holden Forests & Gardens Scientist Na Wei, Ph.D., and her collaborators from Oakland University andthe University of Pittsburgh decoded the scent of flowers and its influence on flower microbes.

Flowers are often fragrant. The scent of flowers is made up from diverse volatile organic compounds and is important to attract pollinators. Dr. Wei and the team found that these volatiles can also attract microbes that can consume the compounds as food and repel other microbes due to the antimicrobial functions of some volatiles. This finding is important for horticulture and agriculture because microbes on flowers can influence flower health and crop yield.

Wei N, Whyle RL, Ashman T-L and Jamieson MA. 2022. Genotypic variation in floral volatiles influences floral microbiome more strongly than interactions with herbivores and mycorrhizae in strawberries. Horticulture Research, 9, uhab005. https://doi.org/10.1093/hr/uhab005

Photo credit: Dr. Mary Jamieson, Oakland University

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