Mosses usechemical signals to attract small animalsthat help them spread male gametes, according to a study published inNature.
In the same way that many insects are attracted by the smell of flowers, and after their visit they take the pollen from them, helping them unknowingly in pollination, it seems that mosses also seek life to get them toCollembola, some tiny arthropods, visit them. “We were very surprised to find such a variety of odors in mosses,” explains Sarah Eppley, one of the authors, from Portland State University (Oregon, USA). “The fact that springtails act as pollinators means that we must completely rethink plant-animal interactions in moss ecology,” he adds.
And it is that, until recently, it was thought that the only way mosses had to complete the sexual phase of their reproductive cycle was thespread of gametes by water or wind. In 2006, a group of researchers discovered the role of mites and collembola in the reproduction of mosses, but the mechanism had not been described until now.
In a series of experiments, Eppley’s team has found that these animals are hopelessly attracted to the scent given off by the species’ moss.Ceratodon purpureus, especially when the latter is a female foot.
Mosses and arthropods are two of theOldest lineages on Earth, dating back at least 450 million years. The results of this work suggest that these microscopic ‘friends’ could have played a key role in the evolution of plant ecology.
