Nectar yeasts warm the flowers of a winter-blooming plant

Yeasts are ubiquitous in terrestrial and aquatic microbiota, yet their ecological functionality remains rela- tively unexplored in comparison with other micro-organisms. This paper formulates and tests the novel hypothesis that heat produced by the sugar catabolism of yeast populations inhabiting fl...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Herrera, Carlos M., Pozo, María I.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2010
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/36794
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/36794
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:floral microbiology
floral microclimate
Helleborus foetidus
Metschnikowia reukaufii
nectar yeasts
yeast communities
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spelling Nectar yeasts warm the flowers of a winter-blooming plantHerrera, Carlos M.Pozo, María I.floral microbiologyfloral microclimateHelleborus foetidusMetschnikowia reukaufiinectar yeastsyeast communitiesYeasts are ubiquitous in terrestrial and aquatic microbiota, yet their ecological functionality remains rela- tively unexplored in comparison with other micro-organisms. This paper formulates and tests the novel hypothesis that heat produced by the sugar catabolism of yeast populations inhabiting floral nectar can increase the temperature of floral nectar and, more generally, modify the within-flower thermal microen- vironment. Two field experiments were designed to test this hypothesis for the winter-blooming herb Helleborus foetidus (Ranunculaceae). In experiment 1, the effect of yeasts on the within-flower thermal environment was tested by excluding them from flowers, while in experiment 2 the test involved artificial inoculation of virgin flowers with yeasts. Nectary temperature (Tnect), within-flower air temperature (Tflow) and external air temperature (Tair) were measured on experimental and control flowers in both experiments. Experimental exclusion of yeasts from the nectaries significantly reduced, and experimental addition of yeasts significantly increased, the temperature excess of nectaries (DTnect ¼ Tnect 2 Tair) and the air space inside flowers in relation to the air just outside the flowers. In non-experimental flowers exposed to natural pollinator visitation, DTnect was linearly related to log yeast cell density in nectar, and reached þ68C in nectaries with the densest yeast populations. The warming effect of nectar-dwelling yeasts documented in this study suggests novel ecological mechanisms potentially linking nectarivorous microbes with winter-blooming plants and their insect pollinators.Peer reviewedRoyal Society (Great Britain)201120112010info:eu-repo/semantics/articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501http://hdl.handle.net/10261/36794reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSICinstname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)Ingléshttp://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/277/1689/1827.full.pdf+htmlinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:digital.csic.es:10261/367942026-05-22T06:33:51Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Nectar yeasts warm the flowers of a winter-blooming plant
title Nectar yeasts warm the flowers of a winter-blooming plant
spellingShingle Nectar yeasts warm the flowers of a winter-blooming plant
Herrera, Carlos M.
floral microbiology
floral microclimate
Helleborus foetidus
Metschnikowia reukaufii
nectar yeasts
yeast communities
title_short Nectar yeasts warm the flowers of a winter-blooming plant
title_full Nectar yeasts warm the flowers of a winter-blooming plant
title_fullStr Nectar yeasts warm the flowers of a winter-blooming plant
title_full_unstemmed Nectar yeasts warm the flowers of a winter-blooming plant
title_sort Nectar yeasts warm the flowers of a winter-blooming plant
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Herrera, Carlos M.
Pozo, María I.
author Herrera, Carlos M.
author_facet Herrera, Carlos M.
Pozo, María I.
author_role author
author2 Pozo, María I.
author2_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv floral microbiology
floral microclimate
Helleborus foetidus
Metschnikowia reukaufii

nectar yeasts

yeast communities
topic floral microbiology
floral microclimate
Helleborus foetidus
Metschnikowia reukaufii
nectar yeasts
yeast communities
description Yeasts are ubiquitous in terrestrial and aquatic microbiota, yet their ecological functionality remains rela- tively unexplored in comparison with other micro-organisms. This paper formulates and tests the novel hypothesis that heat produced by the sugar catabolism of yeast populations inhabiting floral nectar can increase the temperature of floral nectar and, more generally, modify the within-flower thermal microen- vironment. Two field experiments were designed to test this hypothesis for the winter-blooming herb Helleborus foetidus (Ranunculaceae). In experiment 1, the effect of yeasts on the within-flower thermal environment was tested by excluding them from flowers, while in experiment 2 the test involved artificial inoculation of virgin flowers with yeasts. Nectary temperature (Tnect), within-flower air temperature (Tflow) and external air temperature (Tair) were measured on experimental and control flowers in both experiments. Experimental exclusion of yeasts from the nectaries significantly reduced, and experimental addition of yeasts significantly increased, the temperature excess of nectaries (DTnect ¼ Tnect 2 Tair) and the air space inside flowers in relation to the air just outside the flowers. In non-experimental flowers exposed to natural pollinator visitation, DTnect was linearly related to log yeast cell density in nectar, and reached þ68C in nectaries with the densest yeast populations. The warming effect of nectar-dwelling yeasts documented in this study suggests novel ecological mechanisms potentially linking nectarivorous microbes with winter-blooming plants and their insect pollinators.
publishDate 2010
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2010
2011
2011
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/10261/36794
url http://hdl.handle.net/10261/36794
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/277/1689/1827.full.pdf+html
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Royal Society (Great Britain)
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Royal Society (Great Britain)
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
instname:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
instname_str Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
reponame_str DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
collection DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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score 15,81155

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