Micro-organisms behind the pollination scenes: microbial imprint on floral nectar sugar variation in a tropical plant community.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Variation in the composition of floral nectar reflects intrinsic plant characteristics as well as the action of extrinsic factors. Micro-organisms, particularly yeasts, represent one extrinsic factor that inhabit the nectar of animal-pollinated flowers worldwide. In this study a 'microbial imprint hypothesis' is formulated and tested, in which it is proposed that natural community-wide variation in nectar sugar composition will partly depend on the presence of yeasts in flowers.

Methods

Occurrence and density of yeasts were studied microscopically in single-flower nectar samples of 22 animal-pollinated species from coastal xeric and sub-humid tropical habitats of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Nectar sugar concentration and composition were concurrently d

SUBMITTER: Canto A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3478047 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature