Phenotypic Space and Variation of Floral Scent Profiles during Late Flower Development in Antirrhinum

Julia Weiss, Joëlle K. Mühlemann, Victoria Ruiz-Hernández, Natalia Dudareva, Marcos Egea-Cortines

The genus Antirrhinum comprises about 28 species with a center of origin in the Iberian Peninsula. They show an important diversity of growing niches. We have performed a comprehensive analysis of scent profiles in eight wild species, Antirrhinum linkianum, A. tortuosum, A. cirrigherum, A. latifolium, A. meonanthum, A. braun-blanquetii, A. barrelieri, and A. graniticum. We used also two laboratory inbred lines A. majus, 165E and Sippe50. We identified 63 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) belonging to phenylpropanoids, benzenoids, mono- and sesquiterpenes, nitrogen-containing compounds, and aliphatic alcohols previously described in plants. Twenty-four VOCs were produced at levels higher than 2% of total VOC emission, while other VOCs were emitted in trace amounts. The absolute scent emission varied during flower maturation and species. The lowest emitting was A. meonanthum while A. tortuosum had the largest emissions. Species were clustered according to their scent profiles and the resulting dendrogram matched the current species phylogeny. However, two accessions, A. majus Sippe 50 and A. braun-blanquetii, showed development-specific changes in their VOC composition, suggesting a precise control and fine tuning of scent profiles. Cluster analysis of the different scent components failed to identify a specific synthesis pathway, indicating a key role of scent profiles as blends. There is considerable degree of chemodiversity in scent profiles in Antirrhinum. The specific developmental stage plays an important role in scent quantitative emissions. The relative robustness of the bouquets could be an adaptation to local pollinators.