Floral traits affecting the transmission of beneficial and-associated microbes

Flowers provide resources for pollinators, and can also be transmission venues for beneficial or pathogenic pollinator associated microbes. Floral traits could mediate transmission similarly for beneficial and pathogenic microbes, although some beneficial microbes can grow in flowers while pathogenic microbes may only survive until acquired by a new host. In spite of conceptual similarities, research on beneficial and pathogenic pollinator-associated microbes has progressed mostly independently. Recent advances demonstrate that floral traits are associated with transmission of beneficial and pathogenic microbes, with consequences for pollinator populations and communities. However, there is a near absence of experimental manipulations of floral traits to determine causal effects on transmission, and a need to understand how floral, microbe and host traits interact to mediate transmission.

Automated summary

Flowers provide resources for pollinators and can serve as transmission venues for beneficial or pathogenic pollinator-associated microbes. Floral traits may play a similar mediating role in the transmission of beneficial and pathogenic microbes, but research on these two types of microbes has largely progressed independently. Recent advancements show that floral traits are linked to transmission of beneficial and pathogenic microbes, impacting pollinator populations and communities, yet experimental manipulations of floral traits to determine causal effects are lacking, and there is a need to understand how floral, microbe, and host traits interact in mediating transmission.