title: How can an understanding of plant-pollinator interactions contribute to global food security?
abstract: Pollination of crops by animals is an essential part of global food production, but evidence suggests that wild pollinator populations may be declining while a number of problems are besetting managed honey bee colonies. Animal-pollinated crops grown today, bred in an environment where pollination was less likely to limit fruit set, are often suboptimal in attracting and sustaining their pollinator populations. Research into plant-pollinator interactions is often conducted in a curiosity-driven, ecological framework, but may inform breeding and biotechnological approaches to enhance pollinator attraction and crop yield. In this article we review key topics in current plant-pollinator research that have potential roles in future crop breeding for enhanced global food security.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK.
authors.forename: Emily J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Bailes
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Geographic Sciences, University of Northampton, Avenue Campus, Northampton NN2 6JD, UK.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ollerton
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK.
authors.forename: Jonathan G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Pattrick
authors.affiliation: Department of Plant Sciences, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EA, UK. Electronic address: bjg26@cam.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Beverley J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Glover
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D059022:Food Safety; D054817:Pollination