Many different flowers make a bouquet: Lessons from specialized metabolite diversity in plant-pollinator interactions

Flowering plants have evolved extraordinarily diverse metabolites that underpin the floral visual and olfactory signals enabling plant-pollinator interactions. In some cases, these metabolites also provide unusual rewards that specific pollinators depend on. While some metabolites are shared by most flowering plants, many have evolved in restricted lineages in response to the specific selection pressures encountered within different niches. The latter are designated as specialized metabolites. Recent investigations continue to uncover a growing repertoire of unusual specialized metabolites. Increased accessibility to cutting-edge multi-omics technologies (e.g. genome, transcriptome, proteome, metabolome) is now opening new doors to simultaneously uncover the molecular basis of their synthesis and their evolution across diverse plant lineages. Drawing upon the recent literature, this perspective discusses these aspects and, where known, their ecological and evolutionary relevance. A primer on omics-guided approaches to discover the genetic and biochemical basis of functional specialized metabolites is also provided.

Automated summary

Flowering plants have evolved diverse metabolites to facilitate interactions with pollinators, providing visual and olfactory signals as well as unique rewards. These specialized metabolites have evolved in specific lineages in response to selection pressures in different niches. Advances in multi-omics technologies have allowed for the discovery of a growing repertoire of these metabolites and the molecular basis of their synthesis and evolution across various plant lineages. This perspective article discusses these aspects, their ecological and evolutionary relevance, and provides an introduction to omics-guided approaches for studying specialized metabolites.