Marquardt Madeline C, Reed Jordan L, Wadgymar Susana M
Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina, United States.
MicroPubl Biol. 2025 Jun 26;2025. doi: 10.17912/micropub.biology.001534. eCollection 2025.
develops extrafloral nectaries at the base of most of its leaves that attract a variety of insects, including ants that aid in defense against herbivores. Here, we show that the extrafloral nectaries on newly developed leaves are larger and produce more nectar than those on older leaves. In addition, we demonstrate that nectar production does not increase with regular nectar removal, as might be experienced with routine visitation by patrolling ants, suggesting that the mass of nectar produced by individual nectaries is not plastic in response to removal. It's possible that plants prioritize producing nectar closer to their apical meristems to encourage ants to patrol and defend the full extent of their vegetative structures or to protect the tissues most vulnerable to herbivory.
它在大多数叶子的基部发育出花外蜜腺，这些蜜腺会吸引各种昆虫，包括有助于抵御食草动物的蚂蚁。在这里，我们表明新长出叶子上的花外蜜腺比老叶子上的更大，产生的花蜜也更多。此外，我们证明，花蜜产量不会随着定期去除花蜜而增加，就像巡逻蚂蚁定期光顾时可能发生的情况那样，这表明单个蜜腺产生的花蜜量不会因去除而发生可塑性变化。有可能植物优先在靠近顶端分生组织的部位产生花蜜，以鼓励蚂蚁巡逻并保护其整个营养结构，或者保护最易受食草动物侵害的组织。
