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Fetters AM, Cantalupo PG, Wei N, Robles MTS, Stanley A, Stephens JD, Pipas JM, Ashman TL. The pollen virome of wild plants and its association with variation in floral traits and land use. Nat Commun 2022; 13:523. [PMID: 35082293 PMCID: PMC8791949 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-28143-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 01/03/2022] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Pollen is a unique vehicle for viral spread. Pollen-associated viruses hitchhike on or within pollen grains and are transported to other plants by pollinators. They are deposited on flowers and have a direct pathway into the plant and next generation via seeds. To discover the diversity of pollen-associated viruses and identify contributing landscape and floral features, we perform a species-level metagenomic survey of pollen from wild, visually asymptomatic plants, located in one of four regions in the United States of America varying in land use. We identify many known and novel pollen-associated viruses, half belonging to the Bromoviridae, Partitiviridae, and Secoviridae viral families, but many families are represented. Across the regions, species harbor more viruses when surrounded by less natural and more human-modified environments than the reverse, but we note that other region-level differences may also covary with this. When examining the novel connection between virus richness and floral traits, we find that species with multiple, bilaterally symmetric flowers and smaller, spikier pollen harbored more viruses than those with opposite traits. The association of viral diversity with floral traits highlights the need to incorporate plant-pollinator interactions as a driver of pollen-associated virus transport into the study of plant-viral interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea M Fetters
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA.
- Department of Evolution, Ecology, and Organismal Biology, The Ohio State University, 318 W. 12th Avenue, Columbus, OH, 43210, USA.
| | - Paul G Cantalupo
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, 5607 Baum Boulevard, Pittsburgh, PA, 15206, USA
| | - Na Wei
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
- The Holden Arboretum, 9500 Sperry Road, Kirtland, OH, 44094, USA
| | - Maria Teresa Sáenz Robles
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Amber Stanley
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Jessica D Stephens
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
- Department of Biology, Westfield State University, 577 Western Avenue, Westfield, MA, 01086, USA
| | - James M Pipas
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA
| | - Tia-Lynn Ashman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, 4249 Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15260, USA.
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Cullen NP, Fetters AM, Ashman TL. Integrating microbes into pollination. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2021; 44:48-54. [PMID: 33248285 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2020.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2020] [Revised: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
Microbes (fungi, bacteria and viruses) living within flowers are hypothesized to affect pollination. We evaluate current support for this idea at each stage of the pollination process. Evidence to date is convincing that microbes influence pollinator attraction, but data are heavily weighted toward bumblebees and the effects of nectar yeasts. Effects of microbes on the efficacy of pollinator visits is understudied and variable outcomes from field studies suggest quality of pollinator visits, not only quantity, are likely involved. The effect of microbes on pollen performance is underappreciated. Beyond the effect of pathogenic viruses, the impacts of pollen-transmitted endophytic microbes on pollen viability or tube growth are unknown but could affect the outcome of pollen receipt. Future research integrating microbes into pollination should broaden taxonomic diversity of microbes, pollinators and plants and the processes under study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nevin P Cullen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Andrea M Fetters
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA
| | - Tia-Lynn Ashman
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA.
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