Nectar sugars and amino acids in day- and night-flowering Nicotiana species are more strongly shaped by pollinators' preferences than organic acids and inorganic ions.

ABSTRACT: Floral nectar contains mainly sugars but also amino acids, organic acids, inorganic ions and secondary compounds to attract pollinators. The genus Nicotiana exhibits great diversity among species in floral morphology, flowering time, nectar compositions, and predominant pollinators. We studied nectar samples of 20 Nicotiana species, composed equally of day- and night-flowering plants and attracting different groups of pollinators (e.g. hummingbirds, moths or bats) to investigate whether sugars, amino acids, organic acids and inorganic ions are influenced by pollinator preferences. Glucose, fructose and sucrose were the only sugars found in the nectar of all examined species. Sugar concentration of the nectar of day-flowering species was 20% higher and amino acid concentration was 2-3-fold

SUBMITTER: Tiedge K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5415175 | biostudies-literature | 2017

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature