Plant age at the time of ozone exposure affects flowering patterns, biotic interactions and reproduction of wild mustard.

ABSTRACT: Exposure of plants to environmental stressors can modify their metabolism, interactions with other organisms and reproductive success. Tropospheric ozone is a source of plant stress. We investigated how an acute exposure to ozone at different times of plant development affects reproductive performance, as well as the flowering patterns and the interactions with pollinators and herbivores, of wild mustard plants. The number of open flowers was higher on plants exposed to ozone at earlier ages than on the respective controls, while plants exposed at later ages showed a tendency for decreased number of open flowers. The changes in the number of flowers provided a good explanation for the ozone-induced effects on reproductive performance and on pollinator visitation. Ozone exposure at earlier

SUBMITTER: Duque L 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8648743 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature