By Vielka Garcia
Figure. The negative relationship between microbial cell density and nectar
(A) shows the negative correlation as microbial cell density in the nectar samples increases, the sugar concentration of the nectar decreases. (B) depicts the sugar concentration of nectars containing no microbes, fungi, bacteria, or both fungi and bacteria. (Rering et al., 2024)
The nectar produced by plants is often regarded simply as sustenance for pollinators; however, it can harbor communities of microbes that largely affect the yield of the plants. The nectar produced by the blueberry plant species Vaccinium corymbosum and Vaccinium myrsinites were studied to determine the frequency of microbes in the nectar microbiome. The two cultivars of V. corymbosum studied were Meadowlark and Arcadia. Meadowlark was described as a low-yielding plant and Arcadia as high-yielding. Microbes were detected in 66% of the samples, with a higher frequency of microbes in Meadowlark, 88%, compared to 38% in Arcadia. Moreover, V. corymbosum and V. myrsinites had similar nectar, both V. myrsinites and Arcadia had similar nectar glucose, and both V. myrsinites and Arcadia produced more nectar glucose than Meadowlark. The differences in microbial incidence could be correlated to many factors such as location, farm management, flower age, and pollinator attraction based on nectar concentration or fungicide treatments. The effects of nectar microbes on blueberries can be inferred using the knowledge already known on the microbes detected in the nectars. Some microbes detected have been known to be plant pathogens, while others suppress plant pathogens and even help in attracting pollinators. Furthermore, microbe incidence had a negative correlation with pollinator visitations, suggesting that the amount of microbes present can have a significant effect on blueberry yields.
Original article:
Rering C, Rudolph A, Li QB, Read Q, Munoz P, Ternest J, Hunter C. 2024. A quantitative survey of the blueberry (Vaccinium spp.) culturable nectar microbiome: variation between cultivars, locations, and farm management approaches. FEMS Microbial Ecology. 100(3): https://doi.org/10.1093/femsec/fiae020
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