Elevated temperature drives a shift from selfing to outcrossing in the insect-pollinated legume, faba bean (Vicia faba)

The effects of climate change on agriculture to human health have been well discussed in both scientific and public domains. In plants, changes in climate might affect interactions between the plants and their insect pollinators due to variable availability of pollinators in severe weather conditions, thus affecting reproductive success of plants and crop yield. In this paper, Bishop et al investigate how plant–pollinator interactions are modified by extreme weather by subjecting faba bean (Vicia faba) to altered temperature. Read the paper to see how they quantified pollen movement between plants using a unique phenotypic marker. (Summary by Nidhi Sharma) J. Exp. Bot. 10.1093/jxb/erw430