DATE2025.05.09 #Press Releases

Unraveling the Mechanism Behind the Deliberately "Foul-Smelling" Evolution of Flowers

--Unraveling the Mechanism Behind the Deliberately "Foul-Smelling" Evolution of Flowers--

Summary

Dr. Yudai Okuyama, Principal Researcher at the National Museum of Nature and Science (Department of Botany, Tsukuba Botanical Garden / Concurrent Associate Professor, School of Science, The University of Tokyo), in collaboration with the National Institute of Genetics, Showa University School of Medicine, Nagano Environmental Conservation Research Institute, University of Miyazaki, Tohoku University, the Database Center for Life Science (DBCLS), Ryukoku University, and Keio University, has successfully elucidated the mechanism by which flowers that mimic the smell of decaying meat (carrion mimicry) deceive pollinating insects by producing the malodorous compound dimethyl disulfide.

Furthermore, their experiments demonstrated that the evolution of this ability can be achieved by only a few amino acid substitutions. They also discovered that the enzyme responsible for this mechanism evolved independently in three distantly related plant genera: Asarum, Eurya, and Symplocarpus.

This represents an exceptionally rare and significant discovery in plant evolution, as it provides a clear explanation of how the unique phenomenon of carrion mimicry in flowers could have evolved.

The findings of this study were published in the May 8, 2025 issue of Science.

Figure: Ranyou-aoi (a species of the genus Asarum)

Links

National Institute of Genetics, Showa University School of Medicine, Nagano Environmental Conservation Research Institute, University of Miyazaki, Tohoku University, Database Center for Life Science (DBCLS), Ryukoku University, Keio University, and Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)

Journal

Journal Name	Science
Title of paper	Convergent acquisition of disulfide-forming enzymes in malodorous flowers