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Abstract
Nutrient deficiency is known to constrain plant growth in numerous ways, but how it impacts floral displays and pollination success remains unclear. Here we investigate how insufficient availability of sulphur – a vital plant nutrient that is a limiting factor in natural and agricultural regions throughout the world – influences the production of floral displays in Brassica rapa, Physalis philadelphica and three Petunia species with differently coloured flowers. Sulphur deficiency led to a drastic reduction in the number of open flowers, an aberrant flower morphology and smaller pollen with an altered mineral nutrient content. Intriguingly, sulphur deprivation also led to a clear reduction in pigmentation of yellow flowers, but not in flowers with white, purple and red colours. The pale yellow flower colour was due to decreased amounts of violaxanthin, lutein and other carotenoids, suggesting that the carotenoid synthesis pathway is particularly susceptible to sulphur deficiency. Additional experiments with nitrogen and phosphorus depletion confirmed that observed colour and morphological changes were not a general nutrient limitation response, but could be ascribed to sulphur depletion specifically. Taken together, our results showed that (mild) sulphur deficiency deteriorates a suite of floral traits, and that the effects may cascade to pollinators and so have the potential to undermine (agro-)ecosystem functioning.
Original language | English |
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Article number | 104656 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Environmental and Experimental Botany |
Volume | 192 |
Early online date | 24-Sept-2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Dec-2021 |
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Dive into the research topics of 'Floral displays suffer from sulphur deprivation'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.Press/Media
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Flowers grow less yellow without sulphur, and that could affect the pollinators that need to see them
Ausma, T. & van der Kooi, C.
06/10/2021 → 08/11/2021
4 items of Media coverage, 1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Expert Comment › Popular
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Regulation of sulfur metabolism in C4 plants
Elzenga, T. (PI), Kok ,de, L. (PI) & Ausma, T. (PhD student)
01/03/2018 → 01/03/2022
Project: Research