Gut Microbiome Research Group, Mae Fah Luang University, Muang, Chiang Rai, Thailand.
School of Science, Mae Fah Luang University, Muang, Chiang Rai, Thailand.
Arch Microbiol. 2022 Feb 22;204(3):187. doi: 10.1007/s00203-022-02800-5.
Bee gut microbial communities have been studied extensively and linked to honey bee biology in terms of stages of bee development and behavior. Associations of bee gut microbiota in health and disease have also been explored. A large number of studies have centered on the gut microbiome of Apis mellifera, with similar investigations lagging far behind in Asian honey bee foragers. In this study, we characterized and compared the gut bacterial profiles of foragers and nurse bees of A. cerana and A. mellifera. Analysis of 16S rRNA partial gene sequences revealed significant differences in gut bacterial communities between the two honey bee species. Despite sharing dominant taxa, Bacteroides was more abundant in A. cerana, while Proteobacteria was higher in A. mellifera. Specific gut members are distinctly associated with hosts performing different tasks (i.e. nurse bees versus foragers). An exclusive abundance of Apibacter detected in Asian honey bee seemed to be a microbial signature of A. cerana foragers. Overall, our study highlights that variations in gut microbiota could be linked to task-specific (nurse bees and foragers) bacterial species associated with honey bees. Future investigations on the symbiotic relationship between host and the resident microbiota would be beneficial for improving honey bee health.
蜜蜂肠道微生物群落已经得到了广泛的研究，并与蜜蜂的发育和行为阶段相关联。还探索了蜜蜂肠道微生物群在健康和疾病中的关联。大量的研究集中在西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera）的肠道微生物群上，而亚洲蜜蜂（如中华蜜蜂（A. cerana））的觅食蜂肠道微生物群的类似调查则远远落后。在这项研究中，我们对中华蜜蜂和西方蜜蜂的觅食蜂和保育蜂的肠道细菌谱进行了特征描述和比较。16S rRNA 部分基因序列分析显示，两种蜜蜂的肠道细菌群落存在显著差异。尽管存在优势分类群，但拟杆菌（Bacteroides）在中华蜜蜂中更为丰富，而变形菌（Proteobacteria）在西方蜜蜂中更为丰富。特定的肠道成员与执行不同任务的宿主（即保育蜂与觅食蜂）明显相关。在亚洲蜜蜂中检测到的 Apibacter 的独特丰度似乎是中华蜜蜂觅食蜂的微生物特征。总体而言，我们的研究表明，肠道微生物群的变化可能与与蜜蜂相关的特定任务（保育蜂和觅食蜂）细菌种类有关。未来对宿主和常驻微生物群之间共生关系的研究将有助于改善蜜蜂的健康。
