Skip to main content
bioRxiv
  • Home
  • About
  • Submit
  • ALERTS / RSS
Advanced Search
New Results

Nectar-dwelling microbes of common tansy are attractive to its mosquito pollinator, Culex pipiens L

View ORCID ProfileD. A. H. Peach, C. Carroll, View ORCID ProfileS. Meraj, S. Gomes, View ORCID ProfileE. Galloway, A. Balcita, View ORCID ProfileH. Coatsworth, N. Young, View ORCID ProfileY. Uriel, R. Gries, View ORCID ProfileC. Lowenberger, View ORCID ProfileM. Moore, G. Gries
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.03.024380
D. A. H. Peach
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
2The University of British Columbia, 2329 West Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for D. A. H. Peach
  • For correspondence: dan@danpeach.net
C. Carroll
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
S. Meraj
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for S. Meraj
S. Gomes
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
E. Galloway
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for E. Galloway
A. Balcita
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
3University of Saskatchewan, 129-72 Campus Drive, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
H. Coatsworth
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
4Emerging Pathogens Institute, University of Florida, 2055 Mowry Road, Gainesville, Florida, USA
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for H. Coatsworth
N. Young
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
Y. Uriel
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for Y. Uriel
R. Gries
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
C. Lowenberger
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for C. Lowenberger
M. Moore
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • ORCID record for M. Moore
G. Gries
1Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
  • Abstract
  • Full Text
  • Info/History
  • Metrics
  • Preview PDF
Loading

Abstract

Background There is widespread interkingdom signalling between insects and microbes. For example, microbes found in floral nectar may modify its nutritional composition and produce odorants that alter the floral odor bouquet which may attract insect pollinators. Mosquitoes consume nectar and can pollinate flowers. We identified microbes isolated from nectar of common tansy, Tanacetum vulgare, elucidated the microbial odorants, and tested their ability to attract the common house mosquito, Culex pipiens.

Results We collected 18 microbial isolates from T. vulgare nectar, representing at least 12 different taxa which we identified with 16S or 26S rDNA sequencing as well as by biochemical and physiological tests. Three microorganisms (Lachancea thermotolerans, Micrococcus lactis, Micrococcus luteus) were grown on culture medium and tested in bioassays. Only the yeast L. thermotolerans grown on nectar, malt extract agar, or in synthetic nectar broth significantly attracted C. pipiens females. The odorant profile produced by L. thermotolerans varied with the nutritional composition of the culture medium. Surprisingly, all three microbes grown separately, but presented concurrently, attracted fewer C. pipiens females than L. thermotolerans by itself.

Conclusions Floral nectar of T. vulgare contains various microbes whose odorants contribute to the odor profile of inflorescences. In addition, L. thermotolerans produced odorants that attract Cx. pipiens females. As the odor profile of L. thermotolerans varied with the composition of the culture medium, we hypothesize that microbe odorants inform nectar-foraging mosquitoes about the availability of certain macro-nutrients which, in turn, affect foraging decisions by mosquitoes.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
Back to top
PreviousNext
Posted April 05, 2020.
Download PDF
Email

Thank you for your interest in spreading the word about bioRxiv.

NOTE: Your email address is requested solely to identify you as the sender of this article.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Nectar-dwelling microbes of common tansy are attractive to its mosquito pollinator, Culex pipiens L
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from bioRxiv
(Your Name) thought you would like to see this page from the bioRxiv website.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Share
Nectar-dwelling microbes of common tansy are attractive to its mosquito pollinator, Culex pipiens L
D. A. H. Peach, C. Carroll, S. Meraj, S. Gomes, E. Galloway, A. Balcita, H. Coatsworth, N. Young, Y. Uriel, R. Gries, C. Lowenberger, M. Moore, G. Gries
bioRxiv 2020.04.03.024380; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.03.024380
Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo Facebook logo Google logo LinkedIn logo Mendeley logo
Citation Tools
Nectar-dwelling microbes of common tansy are attractive to its mosquito pollinator, Culex pipiens L
D. A. H. Peach, C. Carroll, S. Meraj, S. Gomes, E. Galloway, A. Balcita, H. Coatsworth, N. Young, Y. Uriel, R. Gries, C. Lowenberger, M. Moore, G. Gries
bioRxiv 2020.04.03.024380; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.03.024380

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One

Subject Area

  • Ecology
Subject Areas
All Articles
  • Animal Behavior and Cognition (3514)
  • Biochemistry (7365)
  • Bioengineering (5342)
  • Bioinformatics (20318)
  • Biophysics (10041)
  • Cancer Biology (7773)
  • Cell Biology (11348)
  • Clinical Trials (138)
  • Developmental Biology (6450)
  • Ecology (9979)
  • Epidemiology (2065)
  • Evolutionary Biology (13354)
  • Genetics (9370)
  • Genomics (12607)
  • Immunology (7724)
  • Microbiology (19087)
  • Molecular Biology (7459)
  • Neuroscience (41134)
  • Paleontology (300)
  • Pathology (1235)
  • Pharmacology and Toxicology (2142)
  • Physiology (3177)
  • Plant Biology (6878)
  • Scientific Communication and Education (1276)
  • Synthetic Biology (1900)
  • Systems Biology (5328)
  • Zoology (1091)