DOI: 10.5061/dryad.2v04627
title: Data from: Associative learning of flowers by generalist bumble bees can be mediated by microbes on the petals

description: Communication is often vital to the maintenance of mutualisms. In
 plant-pollinator mutualisms, plants signal pollinators via floral
 displays, composed of olfactory, visual, and other plant-derived cues.
 While plants are understood to be associated with microbes, only recently
 has the role of microbial (yeast and bacteria) inhabitants of flowers as
 intermediaries of plant-pollinator communication been recognized. Animals
 frequently use microbial cues to find resources, yet no study has examined
 whether microbes directly mediate learned and innate pollinator responses.
 Here, we asked whether microbes on the flower surface, independent of
 their modification of floral rewards, can mediate these key components of
 pollinator preference. In the field we characterized flower and bumble bee
 microbial abundance, and in laboratory assays we tested whether bumble
 bees (Bombus impatiens) discriminated flowers on the basis of an
 experimental floral microbial community on the petals and whether
 microbe-derived chemicals were effective cues. Learning of microbial
 community cues was associative and reward context-dependent and mediated
 by microbial chemicals. Deconstructing the experimental microbial
 community showed bees innately avoided flowers with bacteria, but were
 undeterred by yeast. Microbial cues thus potentially facilitate dynamic
 communication between plants and pollinators such as bumble bees,
 especially as pollinator visitation can change flower microbiota. We
 suggest that the study of communication in mutualism generally would
 benefit by considering not only the multicellular eukaryote partners, but
 their microbial associates.
description: Supplementary
 experiments, figures, and analysesSupplementary
 experiments, figures, and analysesMicrobe_pref_ms_suppmat_6-11-2018_submit.docxRaw data for Experiment 1Data transcribed from data sheets for experiment 1 (differential conditioning, artificial flowers microbes) but not editedBhv-exp_ArtiFlwr-Microbe-Bee-Pref_12-1-2017.xlsxRaw data for Experiment 2Data transcribed from data sheets for experiment 2 (absolute conditioning, live flowers microbes) but not editedBhv-exp_Exa-Microbe-Bee-Pref_8-16-2017.xlsxRaw data for Experiment 3Data transcribed from data sheets for experiment 3 (innate preference, live flowers yeast or bacteria) but not editedBhv-exp_Exa_Bact-Vs-Yeast-Bee-Pref_7-17-2017.xlsxRaw data for Experiment 4Data transcribed from data sheets for experiment 4 (absolute conditioning, live flowers supernatant) but not editedBhv-exp_Exa-Supernatant-Bee-Pref_9-19-2017.xlsxRaw data for Supplementary Experiment S1Data transcribed from data sheets for supplementary experiment S1 (innate preference, components of preference) but not editedBhv-exp_Frankenflower-Bee-Pref_12-16-2017.xlsxRaw data for Greenhouse SurveyData transcribed from data sheets for greenhouse survey of Exacum affine microbesMcrb cnt grnhouse exacum haemocytometer 12-8-2017.xlsxRaw data for Field Survey flowersData transcribed from data sheets for field survey of flower microbesMcrb cnt urban-flowers haemocytometer 8-14-2017.xlsxRaw data for Field Survey beesData transcribed from data sheets for field survey of bumble bee microbesMcrb cnt wild-caught bees haemocytometer 7-25-2017.xlsxR Code for analysesStats_Bee-flower-microbe-pref_12-16-2017.RMetadata for electronic supplementary mediaESM-map.txt