title: Tail-like anther crest aids pollination by manipulating pollinator's behaviour in a wild ginger.
abstract: Innovative floral organs are widely distributed taxonomically in angiosperms, and some of them are conspicuous and curious in morphology. Floral organs have long been supposed to play a crucial role in fertilization by pollinators. However, why innovative organs occur, how they are adapted for pollinators and what sexual roles they play are still puzzling. Here we focused on a wild ginger (Zingiber densissimum, Zingiberaceae) and tested the function of the curious anther crest, an innovative floral structure widely distributed in Zingiberaceae. The anther crest is a specialized anther appendage that extends up from the top of the anther to form a tail-like structure, about 150% as long as the anther. We found this structure promoted both the male and the female functions of plants by manipulating its pollinators and causing pollinators to adopt a position ideal for pollen removal and receipt. This study provides a novel example of structure adaptation in which both the male and the female functions are enhanced by resource allocation on a male organ, expanding the knowledge of the sexual roles of the anther appendage.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 88# Xuefu Road, Yunnan 650223, China.|China Forest Exploration and Design Institute of Kunming, Kunming 650216, China.
authors.forename: Yong-Li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 88# Xuefu Road, Yunnan 650223, China.
authors.forename: Qing-Jun
authors.initials: QJ
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030023:Asarum; D035264:Flowers / Q000033:anatomy & histology*; D007313:Insecta; D011058:Pollen; D054817:Pollination / Q000502:physiology*; D013045:Species Specificity