Flower scent composition in diurnal Silene species (Caryophyllaceae): phylogenetic constraints or adaption to flower visitors?

摘要

A comparative analysis of the flower volatiles of 10 day-flowering Silene species native to Central Europe was made to improve the understanding of the pollination biology and evolution of floral odours in the genus. Floral scent was collected by dynamic headspace adsorption and analysed via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. In total, 60 compounds could be identified by their mass spectra as well as by their relative retention times. The number of compounds per species ranged between 16 in Silene rupestris and 40 in S. viscaria. Main compounds in most species were fatty acid derivatives (FADs, cis-3-hexen-1-ol, cis-3-hexenyl acetate, n-nonanal), benzenoids (benzaldehyde, phenylacetaldehyde, methyl benzoate), and monoterpenes (limonene, linalool), accompanied by sesquiterpenes, and nitrogen-containing compounds.