Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Emilia Brzosko, Andrzej Bajguz, Justyna Burzynska, Magdalena Chmur
Summary: The goal of this study was to investigate the influence of flower structure and nectar composition on the reproductive success of Epipactis helleborine orchids in natural and anthropogenic habitats. We found that anthropogenic populations had higher fruiting rates and different pollinaria removal rates compared to natural populations. Floral display and flower traits showed limited effects on reproductive success, with nectar chemistry being the most important trait. The nectar of E. helleborine had lower sugar concentration in anthropogenic populations and a dominance of sucrose in natural populations.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Emilia Brzosko, Andrzej Bajguz, Justyna Burzynska, Magdalena Chmur
Summary: The study investigated the role of flower structure and nectar composition in the reproductive success of the specialist orchid Goodyea repens, which is pollinated by generalist bumblebees. The results showed that flower structure influenced reproductive success in certain populations, while nectar composition had a smaller impact. This suggests that G. repens is well adapted to pollination by bumblebees.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Emilia Brzosko, Andrzej Bajguz, Justyna Burzynska, Magdalena Chmur
Summary: This study found that differences in flower structure and nectar composition have some impact on reproductive success in natural and anthropogenic populations of generalist orchid Epipactis palustris, but the selection on nectar components plays a more important role. Natural populations produce nectar with a larger amount of sugars and amino acids, while anthropogenic populations show a dominance of fructose and glucose in their nectar.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Jingjing Niu, Xuhuan Li, Siyu Zhang, Yifeng Yao, Yongping Zhang, Yixuan Liu, Xiaoya Peng, Jun Huang, Fang Peng
Summary: Microbial volatile organic compounds (mVOCs) play a crucial role in communication among microorganisms, insects, and plants in ecosystems. This study investigated the mVOCs produced by Arctic flowers and their effects on plant growth. The researchers isolated different yeast species from the flowers of five Arctic plant species and found that the composition and amount of mVOCs were affected by temperature. Furthermore, the mVOCs produced by these yeasts had varying effects on the growth and development of Arabidopsis plants. The study provides insights into the interactions between microorganisms and plants in the Arctic and their responses to climate change.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Plant Sciences
Charlotte Descamps, Muriel Quinet, Anne-Laure Jacquemart
Summary: The study found that elevated temperatures and water stress have significant impacts on the floral resources of the bee-pollinated species Borago officinalis, including reductions in nectar volume and total nectar sugars produced per flower, as well as decreases in pollen weight per flower and increases in pollen polypeptide concentration. Both temperature rise and water stress also led to an increase in total amino acid concentration and essential amino acid percentage in nectar, while the relative percentage of different amino acids in both pollen and nectar were modified under stresses. These modifications may have implications for plant-pollinator interactions, plant pollination success, and insect nutritional needs.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Review
Microbiology
Eduardo D. Fenner, Thamarys Scapini, Mariana da Costa Diniz, Anderson Giehl, Helen Treichel, Sergio Alvarez-Perez, Sergio L. Alves Jr
Summary: The importance of insects in pollinating angiosperms is well recognized. Recent studies have highlighted the role of yeast in floral nectar as a third participant in this mutualism. Yeasts in nectar produce volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can influence insect foraging behavior, attracting them to flowers. In return, insects serve as transporters and provide a safer habitat for yeasts during winter. This ecological relationship has potential biotechnological implications, as nectar-inhabiting yeasts have been found to produce valuable metabolites that have a global market value of approximately USD 15 billion.
Article
Plant Sciences
Katarzyna Roguz, Laurence Hill, Agata Roguz, Marcin Zych
Summary: This study explores the evolution of flower traits in Fritillaria species in the context of pollinator shift, revealing new traits in bird-pollinated species without excluding insect pollinators, and documenting potential reversals from bird to insect pollination. The analysis provides a foundation for future research on genetic and physiological mechanisms controlling flower traits in the genus Fritillaria.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Charlotte Descamps, Anne Jambrek, Muriel Quinet, Anne-Laure Jacquemart
Summary: In the context of climate warming, alterations in plant pollination and reproductive success due to increased air temperatures constitute a significant issue. Higher temperatures negatively affect floral traits and rewards, leading to reduced flower visitation by pollinators, which could in turn decrease plant pollination rates and reproductive success under global temperature increases caused by climate change.
Article
Plant Sciences
Danielle Maximo, Marcelo J. P. Ferreira, Diego Demarco
Summary: This study is the first to describe the structure and nectar composition of extrafloral nectaries in the Sapindaceae family. The findings reveal a novel structure and composition for these nectaries, which contribute to the plant's defense mechanisms.
Article
Plant Sciences
Maria Cleopatra Pimienta, Suzanne Koptur
Summary: The night-blooming G. scabra is an important food source for both diurnal and nocturnal arthropods in the fire-dependent pine rocklands of southern Florida.
Article
Microbiology
Caitlin C. Rering, Arthur B. Rudolph, John J. Beck
Summary: The study revealed that yeast and pollen can affect the amino acid and sugar concentrations of nectar, as well as the contribution of volatiles in nectar. Furthermore, yeast has a certain impact on the volatiles produced by pollen.
ENVIRONMENTAL MICROBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Sofia D. Koblova, Paula J. Rudall, Dmitry D. Sokoloff, Dennis W. Stevenson, Margarita V. Remizowa
Summary: This study investigates the developmental morphology and anatomy of Rapateaceae, a plant family with unique inflorescence and gynoecium structures. The research found that this family lacks septal nectaries, but a bird-pollinated tribe within the family possesses a unique non-septal nectary.
FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Hai-Ping Zhang, Shi-Jia Wen, Hong Wang, Zong-Xin Ren
Summary: This study compared nectar volume and sugar concentration in two orchid species. It found that both species reabsorbed sugars but not water in wilted flowers, and the sugar concentration gradients decreased as flowers aged.
Article
Plant Sciences
Hong-Xia Zhou, Richard Milne, Peng Cui, Wen-Jing Gu, Meng-Fang Hu, Xin-Yue Liu, Yue-Qin Song, Jun Cao, Hong-Guang Zha
Summary: Floral nectar (FN) and extrafloral nectar (EFN) in Hemerocallis citrina differ in secretion, composition, and ecological function. The EFN pathway could be an important route for neonicotinoids to enter the wild food chain, and should be considered when evaluating the environmental risks of other systemic insecticides.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Qian Zhao, Lina Gu, Yuqing Li, Hui Zhi, Jianrang Luo, Yanlong Zhang
Summary: This study classified 87 herbaceous peony cultivars into three groups based on their fragrance levels and selected 16 strong fragrance cultivars for analysis. By using SPME and GC/MS, a total of 68 volatile components were detected in these cultivars, with 26 identified as important scent components. Through qRT-PCR, key genes related to monoterpene and 2-PE synthesis pathways were identified. This study revealed the releasing pathway of herbaceous peony fragrance components and provided important genetic resources for fragrance improvement.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Carlos M. Herrera
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2020)
Article
Biology
Carlos M. Herrera
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2020)
Article
Plant Sciences
Monica Medrano, Conchita Alonso, Pilar Bazaga, Esmeralda Lopez, Carlos M. Herrera
Article
Ecology
Sergio Alvarez-Perez, Kaoru Tsuji, Marion Donald, Ado Van Assche, Rachel L. Vannette, Carlos M. Herrera, Hans Jacquemyn, Tadashi Fukami, Bart Lievens
Summary: Floral nectar is commonly colonized by yeasts and bacteria, whose growth is influenced by their ability to utilize nitrogen sources, withstand high osmotic pressures, and balance carbon-to-nitrogen ratios. The phylogenetic relatedness of strains is associated with nitrogen assimilation variation, and nutrient source as well as isolate origin can predict the ability of acinetobacters to assimilate nitrogen-rich compounds. Inter-clade variation in the potential of acinetobacters as nitrogen scavengers suggests that nutritional dependences might impact interactions between bacteria and yeasts in floral nectar.
Article
Ecology
Carlos M. Herrera
Summary: This article explores the comparative importance of facilitation and competition as drivers of pollinator resource use at the community level. Results suggest that in undisturbed montane habitats, plant species are arranged in a way that is closer to a facilitation-dominated extreme on a competition-facilitation gradient.
Article
Plant Sciences
Carlos M. Herrera, Pilar Bazaga, Ricardo Perez, Conchita Alonso
Summary: This study on Lavandula latifolia (Lamiaceae) shrubs revealed the presence of epigenetic heterogeneity within plants, which was shown to be a result of internal epigenetic diversification occurring steadily during individual development and subsequently propagated by branch divisions. This highlights that epigenetic mosaicism is a continuous process within plants.
Correction
Ecology
Sergio Alvarez-Perez, Kaoru Tsuji, Marion Donald, Ado Van Assche, Rachel L. Vannette, Carlos M. Herrera, Hans Jacquemyn, Tadashi Fukami, Bart Lievens
Summary: A correction to this paper has been published.
Article
Plant Sciences
Clara Vega, Sergio Alvarez-Perez, Rafael G. Albaladejo, Sandy-Lynn Steenhuisen, Marc-Andre Lachance, Steven D. Johnson, Carlos M. Herrera
Summary: Plant-pollinator interactions play a crucial role in shaping nectar microbial communities, with significantly different yeast and bacterial communities found in plants visited by different pollinator guilds. The richness and phylogenetic diversity of yeasts and bacteria vary depending on the type of pollinator, highlighting contrasts between the two microbial groups in nectar communities.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Clara de Vega, Rafael G. Albaladejo, Sergio Alvarez-Perez, Carlos M. Herrera
Summary: Yeast in floral nectar can directly or indirectly influence plant reproductive success. The direct effect of yeast on plant reproduction was not significant, but significant indirect effects were observed for plant species pollinated by bumblebees or hawkmoths, with the direction of effects varying for different fitness components. There was no consistent effect of yeast on maternal fecundity for species with diverse pollinator assemblages.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY
(2022)
Article
Plant Sciences
Carlos M. Herrera, Monica Medrano, Pilar Bazaga, Conchita Alonso
Summary: This study reveals the presence of intraindividual epigenetic mosaicism in plants, and the predictable relationship between epigenetic and phenotypic variations in different modules of the same plant. The phenotypes of offspring were also linked to the epigenotype of the maternal module.
JOURNAL OF ECOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Jose R. Morales-Poole, Clara de Vega, Kaoru Tsuji, Hans Jacquemyn, Robert R. Junker, Carlos M. Herrera, Chris Michiels, Bart Lievens, Sergio Alvarez-Perez
Summary: The growth performance of Acinetobacter spp. and Rosenbergiella spp. in floral nectar is largely influenced by the nectar chemistry and bacterial phylogeny.
Article
Microbiology
Diana Fatima Jacinto-Castillo, Azucena Canto, Luis Abdelmir Medina-Medina, Aileen O'Connor-Sanchez
Summary: The bacterial and fungal communities in the honey of European honey bees and Mexican honey bees were found to be significantly different, with both types of honey having Lactobacillaeae as the most abundant bacterial species.
ARCHIVES OF MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Ecology
Carlos M. Herrera, Alejandro Nunez, Luis O. Aguado, Conchita Alonso
Summary: Understanding the factors that drive community-wide assembly of plant-pollinator systems along environmental gradients has significant implications. This study shows that the seasonality in bee pollinator composition in Mediterranean montane habitats is due to the thermal biology of mining bees (Andrena).
ECOLOGICAL MONOGRAPHS
(2023)
Article
Ecology
Carlos M. M. Herrera, Alejandro Nunez, Javier Valverde, Conchita Alonso
Summary: This paper assesses the shrinking effect of body size in a community of solitary bees in a well-preserved habitat during climatic warming. The results show a significant decline in the average body mass of the solitary bees, with larger species shrinking at a faster rate than smaller species. The shrinking effect may lead to significant alterations in the pollination and mating systems of bee-pollinated plants.
Article
Entomology
Alejandro Perez-Morfi, Azucena Canto, Richard E. Feldman, Luis A. Medina-Medina, Humberto Estrella-Maldonado, Rosalina Rodriguez, Jose Luis Andrade
Summary: Floral diversity helps honey bees meet their nutritional requirements, but infection by Nosema spp. can hinder their ability to absorb nutrients. Nosemosis is widespread in commercial apiaries in the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, but there have been no reports of colony deaths. This study suggests that natural stored bee bread in honey bee colonies from the Yucatan Peninsula may play a role in their survival and reducing Nosema spp. spore load.
ENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA
(2023)
