DISSERTATION RESEARCH: Microbial mediation of polliator performance

花蜜是植物与传粉者之间相互作用的重要媒介。花蜜作为大多数传粉动物的主要能量来源，不仅为它们的飞行提供燃料，而且也是传粉动物繁殖的重要决定因素。考虑到它的营养价值，酵母等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代价来利用花蜜。例如，酵母的代谢活性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，它们也可能影响传粉者的表现和繁殖。本研究项目将通过实验测试花蜜中的酵母菌对熊蜂传粉者行为和繁殖的影响程度，并利用实验室实验研究所涉及的机制。这项研究的结果将突出一个以前未研究过的因素，植物传粉者的相互作用，酵母，其在花蜜中的生长可能介导植物和传粉者从彼此收到的共同利益。 熊蜂授粉是一种重要的生态系统服务，有助于本地植物繁殖和农作物产量，因为大约90%的开花植物依赖昆虫或其他动物授粉。该研究项目将确定可能限制熊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授粉服务物种可能很重要。此外，通过对商业上重要的农业服务授粉者进行这项研究，我们的研究结果可能会应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.