Nectar defense and hydrogen peroxide in floral nectar of Cucurbita pepo

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate some similarities between the nectaries of Nicotiana sp. and Cucurbita pepo, such as starch accumulation in the nectary parenchyma, changes in nectary color during maturation, and the production of a large quantity of sucrose-dominant nectar. The concentration of hydrogen peroxide in C. pepo floral nectar was determined in order to verify the presence of a defense mechanism similar to that found in Nicotiana sp. which protects nectar from yeast and bacteria proliferation. We also tested the eventual accumulation of antioxidants in the nectary of C. pepo as a protection against oxidative stress caused by hydrogen peroxide. The level of hydrogen peroxide found in the floral nectar of C. pepo was much lower than that found in Nicotiana sp. and the male flowers of Cucurbita had a higher concentration than the female flowers. The low oxidative stress induced by this level of hydrogen peroxide caused the accumulation of a low amount of lutein inside the plastoglobules which were contained in amyloplasts. Plastids of the C. pepo nectary are specialized in the accumulation of starch rather than antioxidants.