DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Microbial mediation of polliator performance

花蜜是植物与传粉媒介相互作用的重要基础资源。作为大多数传粉动物的主要能量来源，花蜜不仅是它们飞行的燃料，而且是传粉动物繁殖的重要决定因素。考虑到它的营养价值，像酵母这样的微生物经常在花蜜中定居也就不足为奇了。酵母可能以植物和传粉者的潜在损失为代价来获取花蜜。例如，酵母的代谢活动有可能改变花蜜的味道和营养价值，这可能会影响传粉者的吸引力、行为和随后的植物繁殖。鉴于酵母可能影响花蜜的营养价值，它们也可能对传粉媒介的表现和繁殖产生影响。本研究项目将通过实验测试花蜜中的酵母对大黄蜂传粉者行为和繁殖的影响程度，并利用实验室实验研究其中的机制。这项研究的结果将突出植物与传粉者相互作用中一个以前未被研究的因素，酵母，它在花蜜中的生长可能介导植物和传粉者相互获得的利益。大黄蜂授粉是一项重要的生态系统服务，促进了本地植物的繁殖和农作物产量，因为大约90%的开花植物依靠昆虫或其他动物授粉。该研究项目将确定可能限制大黄蜂发育和繁殖的相互作用和机制，这对保护和商业企业寻求保护或开发用于授粉服务的物种可能很重要。此外，通过对农业服务中具有重要商业意义的传粉媒介进行这项研究，我们的结果可能适用于影响其成功的机制。了解微生物影响植物-动物系统的机制将填补我们对微生物生态学及其在生态群落中所起作用的知识空白。

Floral nectar is a fundamental resource important for mediating interactions between plants and pollinators. As the primary energy source for most pollinating animals, nectar not only fuels their flight, but also can be an important determinant of pollinator reproduction. Considering its nutritional value, it should be of no surprise that microorganisms such as yeasts often colonize nectar. Yeasts may exploit nectar at the potential expense of plants and pollinators. For example, yeast metabolic activity has the potential to modify the taste and nutritional value of nectar, which may affect pollinator attraction, behavior, and subsequent plant reproduction. Given that yeasts may affect the nutritional value of nectar, they may also have effects on the performance and reproduction of pollinators. This research project will experimentally test the degree to which yeasts in floral nectar affect bumble bee pollinator behavior and reproduction, and also examine the mechanisms involved utilizing laboratory experiments. Results from this research will highlight a previously unstudied factor in plant-pollinator interactions, yeast, whose growth in nectar may mediate the mutual benefits received by plants and pollinators from one another. Bumble bee pollination is a critical ecosystem service that facilitates both native plant reproduction and agricultural crop yield, as approximately 90% of flowering plants rely on insects or other animals for pollination. This research project will identify interactions and mechanisms that may limit bumble bee development and reproduction, insight that may be important for conservation and commercial enterprises seeking to preserve or develop species for pollination services. Moreover, by conducting this research with a commercially important pollinator for agricultural services, our results may have application to mechanisms that affect its success. Understanding mechanisms through which microbial organisms affect plant-animal systems will fill a void in our knowledge of the ecology of microbial organisms and the role they play in ecological communities.