Abstract
Thirty species of flowering plants were analyzed for floral nectar amino acid composition. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used in conjunction with AccQtag derivatization to produce accurate and precise data. For any one species, the total concentration of amino acids varies greatly (average coefficient of variation 0.65), but composition is much less variable (average correlation among samples from a single species 0.85). Absolute concentration of individual amino acids is much more variable than the relative abundance (coefficients of variation 0.98 and 0.77, respectively; N = 544, t = 16.98, P < 0.001). When amino acids that occur in only small relative abundance (<1%) are removed from the analysis, the difference is even more marked (0.78 and 0.51, respectively; N = 344, t = 15.13, P < 0.001). The results highlight the need for large sample sizes when making observations concerning the absolute amounts of amino acids in nectar and for sensitive analyses of the composition, as even small changes may be biologically significant.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
BAKER, H. G. and BAKER, I. 1973. Amino acids in nectar and their evolutionary significance. Nature 241:543–545.
BAKER, H. G. and BAKER, I. 1975. Studies of nectar constitution and pollinator-plant coevolution, pp. 100–140, In L. E. Gilbert and P. H. Raven (eds.). Co-evolution of Animal and Plants. University of Texas Press, Austin, Texas.
BAKER, H. G. and BAKER, I. 1977. Intraspecific constancy of floral nectar amino acid complements. Bot. Gaz. 138:183–191.
BAKER, H. G., OPLER, P. A., and BAKER, I. 1978. A comparison of the amino acid complements of floral and extrafloral nectars. Bot. Gaz. 139:322–332.
BAKER, I. and BAKER, H. G. 1976. Analyses of amino acids in flower nectars of hybrids and their parents, with phylogenetic implications. New Phytol. 76:87–98.
BAKER, I. and BAKER, H. G. 1979. Chemical constituents of the nectars of two Erythrina species and their hybrid. Ann. Mio. Bot. Gard. 66:446–450.
BERNARDELLO, L. M., GALETTO, L., and JULIANI, H. R. 1991. Floral nectar, nectary structure and pollinators in some Argentinean Bromeliaceae. Ann. Bot. 67:401–412.
COHEN, S. A. and MICHEAUD, D. P. 1993. Synthesis of a fluorescent derivitization reagent, 6-aminoquionyl-N-hydroxysuccinimidyl carbamate and its application for the analysis of hydrolysate amino acids via high performance liquid chromatography. Anal. Biochem. 211:279–287.
ERHARDT, A. and BAKER, I. 1990. Pollen amino acids-an additional diet for a nectar feeding butterfly. Plant Syst. Evol. 169:111–121.
FINDLAY, N. and MERCER, F. V. 1971. Nectar production in Abutilon. III. Sugar secretion. Aust. J. Biol. Sci. 24:665–675.
FORCONE, A., GALETTO, L., and BERNARDELLO, L. 1997. Floral nectar chemical composition of some species from Patagonia. Biochemi. Syst. Ecol. 25:395–402.
GARDENER, M. C. and GILLMAN, M. P. 2001. The effects of soil fertilizer on amino acids in the floral nectar of corncockle, Agrostemma githago L. (Caryophyllaceae). Oikos 92:101–106.
GOTTSBERGER, G., SCHRAUWEN, J., and LINSKENS, H. F. 1984. Amino acids and sugars in nectar, and their putative evolutionary significance. Plant Syst. Evol. 145:55–77.
GOTTSBERGER, G., ARNOLD, T., and LINSKENS, H. F. 1989. Intraspecific variation in the amino acid content of floral nectar. Bot. Acta 102:141–144.
GOTTSBERGER, G., ARNOLD, T., and LINSKENS, H. F. 1990. Variation in floral nectar amino acids with aging of flowers, pollen contamination, and flower damage. Isr. J. Bot. 39:167–176.
LANZA, J., SMITH, G. C., SACK, S., and CASH, A. 1995. Variation in nectar volume and composition of Impatiens capensis at the individual, plant and population levels. Oecologia 102:113–119.
LUTTGE, U. 1961. Uber die zusammensetzung des nektars und den mechanismus seiner sekretion. I. Planta 56:189–212.
PETANIDOU, T., VANLAERE, A. J., and SMETS, E. 1996. Change in floral nectar components from fresh to senescent flowers of Capparis spinosa (Capparidaceae), a nocturnally flowering Mediterranean shrub. Plant Syst. Evol. 199:79–92.
RUSTERHOLZ, H. P. and ERHARDT, A. 1998. Effects of elevated CO2 on flowering phenology and nectar production of nectar plants important for butterflies of calcareous grasslands. Oecologia 113:341–349.
ZIEGLER, H. 1956. Untersuchungen uber die Leitung und Sekretion der Assimilate. Planta 47:447–500.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Gardener, M.C., Gillman, M.P. Analyzing Variability in Nectar Amino Acids: Composition Is Less Variable Than Concentration. J Chem Ecol 27, 2545–2558 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013687701120
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1013687701120