The Plant-Pollinator-Microbe Triangle

Despite the major ecological and agricultural importance of plant-pollinator associations, the microbiota of the anthosphere and of wild pollinators are not well understood. I started to work on this line of research during the final phase of my doctoral studies with first floral microbiome assessments, and now supplement this as a young investigator groupleader with the bee-microbiota association perspective. I adress fundamental questions about diversity and community structure, but also aim to understand the ecological functions and the molecular mechanisms. The major research objectives for the near future are:

• Assessing diversity and community structure of microbiota for plant reproductive organs (KE1743/5-1) and wild pollinators (KE1743/4-1)
• Connecting flower-microbe ecology with visiting pollinators, land-use-intensity, floral carbon and nitrogen resources as well as secondary metabolites (DFG KE1743/5-1)
• Relating pollinator-microbe ecology to plant diversity, foraging patterns, immunity and land-use (DFG KE1743/6-1)
• Microbial genomics, transcriptomics and bioassays to identify ecological functions and understand the molecular mechanisms (DFG KE1743/5-1, KE1743/6-1)
• Identifying co-evolutionary patterns of microbes with respect to host physiology and ecology (DFG E1743/4-1)
• Finding and understanding similarities and discrepancies in microbial taxonomic and genetic diversity and corresponding community structuring rules (DFG KE1743/5-1)
• Addressing impacts of cross-transferred microbiota on pollination services, health and life-history of plants and pollinators (DFG KE1743/5-1, KE1743/6-1) 

Bee Microbiota

Bees are important agents in ecological and agricultural systems, mostly through their incommensurable pollination services. It is however not only the abundance of bees that regulates ecosystem benefits, but also a diversity of pollinators is required to maintain effective pollination. Microbial assessments are rare beyond honey- and bumble-bees, although it is of great ecological importance to address these to understand life history and threats. There is not only a lack of knowledge about pathogens, but bee-microbe associations in general. Mutualists are important for host health as well as nutrition uptake, but their co-evolution with bees species completely unclear. Also in how far foraging strategies, immunity and the chemical composition of body surfaces are linked to such. My group performed initial studies in this system to address these gaps. The project starts with microbial diversity assessments throughout the Apiformes, alongside determination of foraging patterns and pathogens. Secondly, we aim to determine biochemical capabilities of isolated bacteria through bioassays for pollen fermentation and antimycotic activity as well as screening of secondary metabolites. Lastly, the project will assemble genomes of isolates to infer the evolution of biochemically relevant genes and pathways important to hosts, their phylogenetic history as well as ecology.

Plant Microbiota

Together with Robert R. Junker from the University of Salzburg we aim to identify patters in microbiota of flower communities and their effects on pollination.

Land-use effects

Within the framework of the Biodiversity Exploratories Initiative, we also conduct experiments and assessments how land-use and diversity affects the microbial compositions in plants (with. R.R. Junker) and bees (with S. Leonhardt and M. Schloter). Both projects aim to understand the interactions on a taxonomic, functional as well as genomic level alongside a gradient of different land-use intensities. Bacterial associates are capable of horizontal gene transfer, so that taxon diversity and genetic diversity of hosts and associates may thus be inconsistent and add complexity to analyses, but provide fast adaptation potential to co-evolutionary processes. The impact of such effects on community assembly, association with specific hosts and their respective ecology is currently completely unclear. We aim to analyse such effects in the long-term in experimental approaches and computer simulations.