Ontology highlight
ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Wright GA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4521368 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Science (New York, N.Y.) 20130301 6124
Plant defense compounds occur in floral nectar, but their ecological role is not well understood. We provide evidence that plant compounds pharmacologically alter pollinator behavior by enhancing their memory of reward. Honeybees rewarded with caffeine, which occurs naturally in nectar of Coffea and Citrus species, were three times as likely to remember a learned floral scent as were honeybees rewarded with sucrose alone. Caffeine potentiated responses of mushroom body neurons involved in olfact ...[more]