Kram Brian W, Carter Clay J
Department of Biology, University of Minnesota Duluth, Duluth, MN 55812, USA.
Sex Plant Reprod. 2009 Dec;22(4):235-46. doi: 10.1007/s00497-009-0112-5. Epub 2009 Sep 1.
Nectaries and nectar have received much research attention for well over 200 years due to their central roles in plant-pollinator interactions. Despite this, only a few genes have demonstrated impacts on nectary development, and none have been reported to mediate de novo nectar production. This scarcity of information is largely due to the lack of a model that combines sizeable nectaries, and high levels of nectar production, along with suitable genomics resources. For example, even though Arabidopsis thaliana has been useful for developmental studies, it has been largely overlooked as a model for studying nectary function due to the small size of its flowers. However, Arabidopsis nectaries, along with those of related species, are quite operational and can be used to discern molecular mechanisms of nectary form and function. A current understanding of the machinery underlying nectary function in plants is briefly presented, with emphasis placed on the prospects of using Arabidopsis as a model for studying these processes.
由于蜜腺和花蜜在植物与传粉者相互作用中发挥着核心作用，在过去200多年里它们受到了大量的研究关注。尽管如此，只有少数基因被证明对蜜腺发育有影响，而且尚未有基因被报道介导花蜜的从头合成。信息的匮乏很大程度上是由于缺乏一个结合了大尺寸蜜腺、高水平花蜜分泌以及合适基因组资源的模型。例如，尽管拟南芥对发育研究很有用，但由于其花朵尺寸小，在很大程度上被忽视作为研究蜜腺功能的模型。然而，拟南芥的蜜腺以及相关物种的蜜腺功能相当正常，可用于识别蜜腺形态和功能的分子机制。本文简要介绍了目前对植物蜜腺功能基础机制的理解，重点强调了使用拟南芥作为研究这些过程模型的前景。
