Abstract

Come to the Old Combination Room on February 13 to hear from Professor Beverley Glover, the Director of Cambridge University Botanic Garden! She will tell us about her research in the evolution and development of floral features which attract pollinating animals.

Professor Glover is keen to approach questions of floral evolution in an integrative way, combining molecular genetic approaches to understand floral development with functional analyses using bumblebees and other pollinators.

This free talk will start at 18:15 with refreshments available from 18:00. To reach Old Combination Room, enter via Great Gate, go diagonally across the court, into the hall and upstairs. You can find our banner near the entrance.

“Flowers and the animals that pollinate them interact at the petalepidermis. It is this single layer of tissue that often provides the visualsurface that advertises nectar and pollen rewards. We take an integratedevo-devo approach to understanding the petal epidermis, and our recentresearch has focused on its optical properties. In particular, we have beenexploring the function and development of cuticular ridges present on thepetal surface of a range of flowering plant species that scatter light,generating a “blue halo” effect which improves foraging efficiency ofbumblebee pollinators. I will present recent work on these nanoscaleridges, describing a variety of developmental genetic and modellingapproaches to understand their patterning and morphogenesis.”