How pollination helps variation and evolution.
Answers
Pollinator-driven diversification is thought to be a major source of floral variation in plants.
Our knowledge of this process is, however, limited to indirect assessments of evolutionary
changes. Here, we employ experimental evolution with fast cycling Brassica rapa plants to
demonstrate adaptive evolution driven by different pollinators. Our study shows pollinatordriven divergent selection as well as divergent evolution in plant traits. Plants pollinated by
bumblebees evolved taller size and more fragrant flowers with increased ultraviolet reflection.
Bumblebees preferred bumblebee-pollinated plants over hoverfly-pollinated plants at the end
of the experiment, showing that plants had adapted to the bumblebees’ preferences. Plants
with hoverfly pollination became shorter, had reduced emission of some floral volatiles, but
increased fitness through augmented autonomous self-pollination. Our study demonstrates
that changes in pollinator communities can have rapid consequences on the evolution of plant
traits and mating system