From plant fungi to bee parasites: mycorrhizae and soil nutrients shape floral chemistry and bee pathogens.

ABSTRACT: Bee populations have experienced declines in recent years, due in part to increased disease incidence. Multiple factors influence bee-pathogen interactions, including nectar and pollen quality and secondary metabolites. However, we lack an understanding of how plant interactions with their environment shape bee diet quality. We examined how plant interactions with the belowground environment alter floral rewards and, in turn, bee-pathogen interactions. Soil-dwelling mycorrhizal fungi are considered plant mutualists, although the outcome of the relationship depends on environmental conditions such as nutrients. In a 2 × 2 factorial design, we asked whether mycorrhizal fungi and nutrients affect concentrations of nectar and pollen alkaloids (anabasine and nicotine) previously shown to reduce

SUBMITTER: Davis JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6773465 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature