Combining biotechnology and evolution for understanding the mechanisms of pollinator attraction

Abstract

Many flowering plants rely on pollinators for their reproductive success. Plant-pollinator interactions usually depend on a complex combination of traits based on a fine-tuned biosynthetic machinery, with many structural and regulatory genes involved. Yet, the physiological mechanisms in plants are the product of evolutionary processes. While evolution has been modifying flowers through millions of years, it is also a rapid process that can change plant traits within few generations. Here we discuss both mechanistic and evolutionary aspects of pollinator attraction. We also propose how latest advances in biotechnology and evolutionary studies, and their combination, will improve the elucidation of molecular mechanisms and evolutionary dynamics of pollinator attraction in changing environments.