The herbaceous peony (Paeonia lactiflora Pall.) has high ornamental and nutritional value, and the seeds of P. lactiflora can be used to produce high-quality edible oil. However, low seed yield limits the application of P. lactiflora. This can be mitigated by insect pollinators. Here, we evaluated the pollination services of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) in a P. lactiflora field. We found that A. mellifera provided pollination for P. lactiflora throughout the day especially in the period from 10:00–15:00. Seed number and weight were significantly increased when P. lactiflora was pollinated by A. mellifera. Furthermore, a DNA barcode, the rbcL gene, was used to analyze pollen samples from the corbiculae (pollen baskets) of A. mellifera (bee pollen, BP) and P. lactiflora flowers (flower pollen, FP). High homology of rbcL genes in the BP and FP suggested that BP was collected from P. lactiflora. Based on our results, A. mellifera provided efficient pollination for P. lactiflora. Therefore, A. mellifera could be a good candidate pollinator for P. lactiflora and could be applied in the field.
Insect pollination is an important process in the natural ecosystem and play a vital role in the reproduction of crops. Bumblebees, Bombus terrestris (L.) is a widely used pollinator for crops, especially for tomato. The efficiency of bee pollination is related to many effectors including biotic effectors such as bee species, nutrition plant, herbivores. Bemisia tabaci is one of the most common and serious damaged pests on tomato plants. However, whether B. tabaci affects the pollination behavior of B. terrestris on tomato, and how they interact was unclear. In this study,we found that B. terrestris preferred B. tabaci-damaged plants. Furthermore, plant volatiles of tomato plants damaged by B. tabaci were detected and analyzed. Electroantennogram (EAG) and Y-tube bioassay were used for olfactory responses of B. terrestris to plant volatiles. Interestingly, Methyl hexanoate and Eugenol induced by B. tabaci in tomato plant were verified significantly attracting B. terrestris. Therefore, Bemisia tabaci influenced B. terrestris preference through volatiles. The plant volatiles-mediated interaction between B. tabaci and B. terrestriscould enrich our understanding of the interaction between herbivores and pollinators. In addition, Methyl hexanoate and Eugenol could be applied for synergist of pollination.
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