| Title: | Towards a better understanding of the role of nectar-inhabiting yeasts in plant-animal interactions |
| Author(s): | Klaps J; Lievens B; Alvarez-Perez S; |
| Address: | "Department of Microbial and Molecular Systems (M2S), Laboratory for Process Microbial Ecology and Bioinspirational Management (PME & BIM), KU Leuven, Willem De Croylaan 46, Leuven, 3001 Belgium. ISNI: 0000 0001 0668 7884. GRID: grid.5596.f" |
| DOI: | 10.1186/s40694-019-0091-8 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2054-3085 (Electronic) 2054-3085 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Flowers offer a wide variety of substrates suitable for fungal growth. However, the mycological study of flowers has only recently begun to be systematically addressed from an ecological point of view. Most research on the topic carried out during the last decade has focused on studying the prevalence and diversity of flower-inhabiting yeasts, describing new species retrieved from floral parts and animal pollinators, and the use of select nectar yeasts as model systems to test ecological hypotheses. In this primer article, we summarize the current state of the art in floral nectar mycology and provide an overview of some research areas that, in our view, still require further attention, such as the influence of fungal volatile organic compounds on the foraging behavior of pollinators and other floral visitors, the analysis of the direct and indirect effects of nectar-inhabiting fungi on the fitness of plants and animals, and the nature and consequences of fungal-bacterial interactions taking place within flowers" |
| Keywords: | Animals;Floral mycobiome Metschnikowia Nectar Plant-insect interactions Pollinators Volatile organic compounds; |
| Notes: | "PubMed-not-MEDLINEKlaps, Joon Lievens, Bart Alvarez-Perez, Sergio eng England 2020/01/11 Fungal Biol Biotechnol. 2020 Jan 8; 7:1. doi: 10.1186/s40694-019-0091-8. eCollection 2020" |
