Nectar in Plant-Insect Mutualistic Relationships: From Food Reward to Partner Manipulation.

ABSTRACT: It has been known for centuries that floral and extra-floral nectar secreted by plants attracts and rewards animals. Extra-floral nectar is involved in so-called indirect defense by attracting animals (generally ants) that prey on herbivores, or by discouraging herbivores from feeding on the plant. Floral nectar is presented inside the flower close to the reproductive organs and rewards animals that perform pollination while visiting the flower. In both cases nectar is a source of carbon and nitrogen compounds that feed animals, the most abundant solutes being sugars and amino acids. Plant-animal relationships involving the two types of nectar have therefore been used for a long time as text-book examples of symmetric mutualism: services provided by animals to plants in exchange for food p

SUBMITTER: Nepi M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6060274 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature