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PubMed1976

Cycles of activity, group composition, and diet of Lemur mongoz mongoz Linnaeus 1766 in Madagascar.

A preliminary study of the ecology and behavior of Lemur mongoz mongoz was carried out in the northwest of Madagascar. The animals were observed for approximately 250 h in July till August, 1973, and for 50 h in June, 1974. L.m.mongoz has been reported to be diurnal and to live in groups of 6-8 individuals. However, we found the animals to be nocturnal and that groups contained an adult male, an adult female and their offspring (groups numbering from 2 to 4 individuals). L.m.mongoz is thus the only species of the genus Lemur studied to date that is active exclusively at night and that lives in family groups. L.m.mongoz was also found to have a very specialized diet. During our study, it was observed to feed on only five species of plant and mainly on the nectar-producing parts (flowers and nectaries) of four of these species. It spent most of its feeding time licking nectar from the flowers of the kapok tree, Ceiba pentandra, and is probably a major pollinator of this tree in Madagascar. In Africa and South and Central America, the kapok tree is usually bat-pollinated. A dietary preference for nectar, although common among bats, has not previously been observed in primates.

Animals↗
PubMed2026

Co-option of stomata in the convergent evolution of fern nectaries.

Understanding the origin of new structures is a central goal of evolutionary biology. In many instances, novel phenotypes arise through heterotopy: the expression of a structure in a new location. Using bracken fern (Pteridium aquilinum) as a model, we combine genomics, transcriptomics and metabolomics to begin to explore the origin and developmental routes in the convergent evolution of ant-enticing nectaries. We observe that P. aquilinum does not exclusively express flowering plant 'nectary genes' during nectary development. Rather, this fern builds nectaries through co-option of stomata. Specifically, P. aquilinum heterotopically expresses canonical angiosperm stomatal regulatory genes, leading to stomatal development in novel positions along the petiole. These non-laminar stomata were co-opted for nectar secretion through the expression of putative sugar transport genes, forming secretory nectarostomata. This work provides two advances in our understanding of nectary evolution and the origin of complex structures. First, heterotopic expression of stomata, and later exaptation, represents one realized developmental mechanism for the evolution of nectar glands. Second, while there are many routes to nectary evolution, nectarostomata development is a repeatable path that has evolved in ferns and flowering plants, representing an impressive case of convergent evolution through the same developmental mechanism, despite over 400 million years of divergent history.

Plant Stomata↗
PubMed2026

Metabolomics-based authentication of acacia honey against C3 and C4 sugar adulteration.

Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia) honey is frequently adulterated with low-cost alternatives via direct syrup addition or in-hive sugar feeding. We focused on sugar-feeding adulterants, which is difficult to distinguish from nectar-based honey. Stable carbon isotope ratio analysis (SCIRA) is an established method for assessing honey authentication; however, its applicability is limited to detecting C4 plant-derived sugar adulteration. Therefore, we developed a metabolomics-based multi-marker strategy to discriminate acacia honey from beet-sugar (C3)- and cane-sugar (C4)-fed honey. Thirteen metabolites were prioritized using combined multivariate and univariate criteria. Subsequently, 1716 panels of seven-marker (13C7) were evaluated for discrimination performance. 291 panels achieved 100% accuracy in an independent validation set. In blending scenarios, acacia honeys spiked with 20% beet-sugar-fed honey and 20% cane-sugar-fed honey were successfully identified, outperforming SCIRA (60%) and beet-sugar marker 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT) (30%). These findings establish metabolomic panels as a robust marker for acacia honey authentication, extending beyond current reference methods.

Acacia↗
PubMed1977

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids: their occurrence in honey from tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea L.)

The hepatotoxic alkaloids known to occur in tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea L.) are also present in honey produced from the nectar of this species. These alkaloids, which inclued senecionine, seneciphylline, jacoline, jaconine, jacobine, and jacozine, are potentially carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic and may pose health hazards to the human consumer.

Food Contamination↗