Data from: Direct effects of polyploidization on floral scent

Polyploidy is an important driver of the evolution and diversification of
flowering plants. Several studies have shown that established polyploids
differ from diploids in floral morphological traits and that
polyploidization directly affects these traits. However, for floral scent,
which is key to many plant-pollinator interactions, only a few studies
have quantified differences between established cytotypes, and the direct
effects of polyploidization on floral scent are not yet known. We compared
the floral scent of established polyploids and diploids from a natural
mixed-ploidy population of the plant Lithophragma bolanderi
(Saxifragaceae), a species pollinated by two highly specialized moth
pollinators of the genus Greya (Prodoxidae). We also compared the floral
scent of neopolyploids synthetically generated from diploids with the
floral scent of the diploid progenitors to quantify the direct effects of
polyploidization on floral scent. Established tetraploids had a higher
floral scent emission rate, produced more scent compounds, and emitted a
relative scent composition that differed from diploids. Neotetraploids
differed in the same direction from diploids as established tetraploids
from diploids, but to a lesser extent. Together, our results provide novel
insights into the ways in which polyploidization reshapes floral scent,
thereby potentially altering interactions between plants and pollinators.