ArticlePloS one2014
Has pollination mode shaped the evolution of ficus pollen?
Article in PloS one, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- Does Transport Matter? Functional Integration of the Pollen on the Fig Wasp Body in Active and Passive Pollination of Fig Trees.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Floral trait dissimilarity indirectly decreases heterospecific pollen transfer through pollinator sharing in a subalpine meadow.Oecologia · 2025Article
- Field studies reveal a close relative of C. elegans thrives in the fresh figs of Ficus septica and disperses on its Ceratosolen pollinating wasps.BMC ecology · 2018Article
- Extremely high proportions of male flowers and geographic variation in floral ratios within male figs of Ficus tikoua despite pollinators displaying active pollen collection.Ecology and evolution · 2016Article
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe extent to which co-evolutionary processes shape morphological traits is one of the most fascinating topics in evolutionary biology. Both passive and active pollination modes coexist in the fig tree (Ficus, Moraceae) and fig wasp (Agaonidae, Hymenoptera) mutualism. This classic obligate relationship that is about 75 million years old provides an ideal system to consider the role of pollination mode shifts on pollen evolution. METHODS AND MAIN
findingsTwenty-five fig species, which cover all six Ficus subgenera, and are native to the Xishuangbanna region of southwest China, were used to investigate pollen morphology with scanning electron microscope (SEM). Pollination mode was identified by the Anther/Ovule ratio in each species. Phylogenetic free regression and a correlated evolution test between binary traits were conducted based on a strong phylogenetic tree. Seventeen of the 25 fig species were actively pollinated and eight species were passively pollinated. Three pollen shape types and three kinds of exine ornamentation were recognized among these species. Pollen grains with ellipsoid shape and rugulate ornamentation were dominant. Ellipsoid pollen occurred in all 17 species of actively pollinated figs, while for the passively pollinated species, two obtuse end shapes were identified: cylinder and sphere shapes were identified in six of the eight species. All passively pollinated figs presented rugulate ornamentation, while for actively pollinated species, the smoother types - psilate and granulate-rugulate ornamentations - accounted for just five and two among the 17 species, respectively. The relationship between pollen shape and pollination mode was shown by both the phylogenetic free regression and the correlated evolution tests.
conclusionsThree pollen shape and ornamentation types were found in Ficus, which show characteristics related to passive or active pollination mode. Thus, the pollen shape is very likely shaped by pollination mode in this unique obligate mutualism.
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