Sampson Hannah R, Allcock Natalie, Mallon Eamonn B, Ketley Julian M, Morrissey Julie A
Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
Electron Microscopy Facility, Core Biotechnology Services, University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes. 2025 Jan 2;11(1):2. doi: 10.1038/s41522-024-00632-3.
Particulate air pollutants, a major air pollution component, are detrimental to human health and a significant risk to wildlife and ecosystems globally. Here we report the effects of particulate pollutant black carbon on the beneficial gut microbiome of important global insect pollinator, the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris). Our data shows that exposure to black carbon particulates alters biofilm structure, gene expression and initial adhesion of beneficial bee gut coloniser, Snodgrassella alvi. Exposure of adult Bombus terrestris to non-toxic black carbon particulates significantly increased viable bacteria on MRS agar and 16S absolute abundance of beneficial bacteria Bombilactobacillus in Post-treated bumblebees compared to Pre-treated, demonstrating disruption of the bumblebee gut microbiome. These findings show that black carbon exposure has direct, measurable effects on bees' beneficial commensal bacteria and microbiome. Together these data highlight that black carbon, a single type of particulate pollution, is an underexplored risk to insect pollinator health.
颗粒空气污染物是空气污染的主要组成部分，对人类健康有害，也是全球野生动物和生态系统面临的重大风险。在此，我们报告颗粒污染物黑碳对全球重要昆虫传粉者——尾带熊蜂（Bombus terrestris）有益肠道微生物群的影响。我们的数据表明，接触黑碳颗粒会改变有益蜜蜂肠道定殖菌——斯氏蜜蜂肠道菌（Snodgrassella alvi）的生物膜结构、基因表达和初始黏附。与预处理相比，成年尾带熊蜂暴露于无毒黑碳颗粒后，后处理熊蜂在MRS琼脂上的活菌数量以及有益菌 Bombilactobacillus 的16S绝对丰度显著增加，这表明熊蜂肠道微生物群受到了破坏。这些发现表明，接触黑碳对蜜蜂的有益共生细菌和微生物群有直接的、可测量的影响。这些数据共同凸显出，作为一种单一类型的颗粒污染，黑碳对昆虫传粉者健康的风险尚未得到充分研究。
