Flow cytometric analysis of pollen grains collected from individual bees provides information about pollen load composition and foraging behaviour.

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

Understanding the species composition of pollen on pollinators has applications in agriculture, conservation and evolutionary biology. Current identification methods, including morphological analysis, cannot always discriminate taxa at the species level. Recent advances in flow cytometry techniques for pollen grains allow rapid testing of large numbers of pollen grains for DNA content, potentially providing improved species resolution.

Methods

A test was made as to whether pollen loads from single bees (honey-bees and bumble-bees) could be classified into types based on DNA content, and whether good estimates of proportions of different types could be made. An examination was also made of how readily DNA content can be used to identify specific pollen spe

SUBMITTER: Kron P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3864728 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature