GENETICS
Sweet temptation: How plants attract pollinators
Flexible genetic adaptation is probably what enables wild cabbage to attract the right insects.
Here, a wild bee is pollinating wild cabbage. | Image: zVg
A field study in Italy, carried out by the University of Zurich, has found that wild cabbage can adapt to the different pollinating insects that live at the plant’s various locations. This could be the result of variations among the genes that determine the composition of its nectar and scents. It is important to be able to retain this ability in cultivated plants, says the study’s lead author Léa Frachon.
