Microorganisms transported by ants induce changes in floral nectar composition of an ant-pollinated plant :- In this fascinating study from the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (Spain), researchers looked at the differences in the nectar sugar composition of ant-excluded and ant-visited flowers in 278 samples. (Click the title above to access the abstract; only the abstract is free.) The researchers found that Ant visitation had significant effects on nectar sugar composition. The nectar of ant-visited flowers contained significantly more fructose, more glucose, and less sucrose than the nectar of ant-excluded flowers, but these effects were context dependent. Nectar changes were correlated with the density of yeast cells in nectar. The magnitude of the effects of ant-transported ascomycetes was much higher than that of basiodiomycetes. One of the earlier, standard HPLC systems (Thermo Scientific Dionex DX 500 HPLC system) was used in the analysis...8-)
Posted on: Tue, 01 Apr 2014 12:39:52 +0000
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