Glossodia major floral transcriptome

Visual cues are of critical importance for pollinator attraction for many orchids that employ generalized food deception pollination strategy, however, little is known about molecular basis conferring brightly coloured flowers and the mechanisms underlying intraspecific floral colour variation in these systems. We combined comparative spectral analysis, targeted metabolite profiling, multi-tissue (floral and vegetative) transcriptomics, and functional analysis to investigate a case of a bee-pollinated species Glossodia major (Orchidaceae) with common purple- and infrequent white-flowered morphs.