Nectar-Inhabiting Bacteria Affect Olfactory Responses of an Insect Parasitoid by Altering Nectar Odors.

ABSTRACT: Floral nectar is ubiquitously colonized by a variety of microorganisms among which yeasts and bacteria are the most common. Microorganisms inhabiting floral nectar can alter several nectar traits, including nectar odor by producing microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs). Evidence showing that mVOCs can affect the foraging behavior of insect pollinators is increasing in the literature, whereas the role of mVOCs in altering the foraging behavior of third-trophic level organisms such as insect parasitoids is largely overlooked. Parasitoids are frequent visitors of flowers and are well known to feed on nectar. In this study, we isolated bacteria inhabiting floral nectar of buckwheat, Fagopyrum esculentum (Polygonales: Polygonaceae), to test the hypothesis that nectar bacteria affect the

SUBMITTER: Cusumano A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10293396 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature