Gazing into the anthosphere: considering how microbes influence floral evolution

Abstract

Summary The flower is the hallmark of angiosperms and its evolution is key to their diversification. As knowledge of ecological interactions between flowers and their microbial communities (the anthosphere) expands, it becomes increasingly important to consider the evolutionary impacts of these associations and their potential eco‐evolutionary dynamics. In this Viewpoint we synthesize current knowledge of the anthosphere within a multilevel selection framework and illustrate the potential for the extended floral phenotype (the phenotype expressed from the genes of the plant and its associated flower microbes) to evolve. We argue that flower microbes are an important, but understudied, axis of variation that shape floral trait evolution and angiosperm reproductive ecology. We highlight knowledge gaps and discuss approaches that are critical for gaining a deeper understanding of the role microbes play in mediating plant reproduction, ecology, and evolution.

The ecology, evolution, and genetics of plant reproductive systems

“…Rebolleda‐Gómez et al . (, in this issue pp. 1012–1020) further explore the interaction of the flower and its environment, in particular the microbial community that inhabits the flower.…”

Strengthened mutualistic adaptation between teosinte and its rhizosphere biota in cold climates

“…Mechanistically, local adaptation to abiotic environments or biotic interactions must ultimately be based on genetic differences in the expression of traits, yet biotic interactions themselves can alter the expression of traits. For example, microbiomes shape traits from obesity to life history in their animal hosts (Turnbaugh et al, 2008;Gould et al, 2018), and plant-microbiomes shape a comprehensive range of vegetative and floral traits in plants (Friesen et al, 2011;Rebolleda-Gómez et al, 2019). If one species' influence on another species' phenotype feeds back to affect its own fitness, selection will shape any genetic variation in the first species affecting traits in the second (so-called 'extended' phenotypes Dawkins et al, 1982;Rebolleda-Gómez et al, 2019;O'Brien et al, 2021).…”

Towards a better understanding of the role of nectar-inhabiting yeasts in plant–animal interactions

“…by antagonizing phytopathogenic microorganisms), should not be overlooked [33,34]. In this way, the downstream effect of microbes in floral biology may have important consequences on plant-animal interactions, plant fitness and plant health [19,28,35], and eventually have a relevant impact on agriculture, ecosystem dynamics and plant conservation. Finally, flower-inhabiting fungi have a huge potential in industrial applications as demonstrated, for example, for second-generation bioethanol production [36].…”