Laboratory of Plant Conservation and Population Biology, Biology Department, KU Leuven, B-3001 Leuven, Belgium.
Department of Animal Health, Complutense University of Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain.
Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2021 Apr;44:35-40. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2020.09.014. Epub 2020 Oct 14.
About 90% of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals. Animals are attracted to flowers because they often provide food in the form of nectar and pollen. While floral nectar is assumed to be initially sterile, it commonly becomes colonized by yeasts after animals have visited the flowers. Although yeast communities in floral nectar appear simple, community assembly depends on a complex interaction between multiple factors. Yeast colonization has a significant effect on the scent of floral nectar, foraging behavior of insects and nectar consumption. Consumption of nectar colonized by yeasts has been shown to improve bee fitness, but effects largely depended on yeast species. Altogether, these results indicate that dispersal, colonization history and nectar chemistry strongly interact and have pronounced effects on yeast metacommunities and, as a result, on bee foraging behavior and fitness. Future research directions to better understand the dynamics of plant-microbe-pollinator interactions are discussed.
大约 90%的显花植物物种都是由动物授粉的。动物被花朵吸引，是因为花朵通常会提供花蜜和花粉形式的食物。虽然花的花蜜最初被认为是无菌的，但在动物访问花朵后，花蜜中通常会被酵母定植。尽管花的花蜜中的酵母群落看似简单，但群落组装取决于多种因素之间的复杂相互作用。酵母定植对花的花蜜的气味、昆虫的觅食行为和花蜜的消耗有显著影响。已表明，食用被酵母定植的花蜜可以提高蜜蜂的适应度，但效果在很大程度上取决于酵母的种类。总的来说，这些结果表明，扩散、定植历史和花蜜化学性质强烈相互作用，并对酵母复合群产生显著影响，进而影响蜜蜂的觅食行为和适应度。讨论了未来更好地理解植物-微生物-传粉者相互作用动态的研究方向。
