Genetic Pollination In Aquatic Plants

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Throughout evolution, plants have developed various mechanisms to attract animals for reproduction and to deter herbivore for survival. Many plant species possess traits to attract animals, or pollinators, for reproduction. Not all plants require pollinators for pollination. Grasses and many conifers are wind pollinated, and pollination by water commonly occurs among aquatic plants (Faegri & Van Der Pijl, 2013). This mechanism is known as abiotic pollination. In biotic pollination, however, pollinators are required to carry pollen grains from the anther to a stigma (Faegri & Van Der Pijl, 2013). While insects are most common pollinators, some species of birds and bats, such as hummingbirds and fruit bats, participate in pollination. Consequently, …show more content…

The strategy used by corns to repel their enemies illustrates how the indirect defense mechanism works in plants. When they are attacked by the larvae of cotton leafworm, Spodoptera littoralis, corns release volatiles that attract wasps, Cotesia marginiventris (Degenhardt, 2009). The wasps lay eggs in the leafworm larvae, and the wasp larvae develop inside the larvae of the leafworm and eventually kill them upon hatching (Degenhardt, 2009). In the plant defense mechanisms, although some produce toxins to kill their predators, it is more common that plants repel herbivores rather than killing them, largely due to their mobility in insect herbivores (Kant et al., 2015). In case of attacks by pathogens, including fungi or bacteria, plants can build mechanical protection, such as the thickening of the cell wall, produce toxins, such as alkaloids, or undergo apoptosis in the infected area to kill the pathogens (Kant et al., 2015). However, because insect herbivores are mobile, such measures do not work, and plants must cope by alternative measures, including repelling them or delaying the growth of individual herbivores or their population (Kant et al., …show more content…

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