Paluoja Priit, Vaher Mihkel, Teder Hindrek, Krjutškov Kaarel, Salumets Andres, Raime Kairi
Celvia CC AS, Tartu, Estonia.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
NPJ Sci Food. 2025 May 30;9(1):91. doi: 10.1038/s41538-025-00464-1.
Honey's DNA mixture originates from various organisms like plants, arthropods, fungi, bacteria, and viruses. Conventional methods like melissopalynological analysis and targeted honey DNA metabarcoding offer a limited view of honey's biological composition. We conducted a honey bulk DNA metagenomic analysis to characterize the honey's taxonomic composition and identify honey bee-related pathogens and parasites based on 266 Estonian and 103 foreign honey samples. 70.4% of the DNA in Estonian honey was derived from green plant families like Brassicaceae, Rosaceae, Fabaceae, and Pinaceae. Geographical distribution analysis revealed distinct botanical compositions between Estonian mainland and island samples. The bacterial family Lactobacillaceae was prevalent overall, reflecting the honey bee microbiota in honey. We detected 12 honey bee pathogens and parasites, including Paenibacillus larvae, Nosema ceranae, Varroa destructor, and Aethina tumida. In conclusion, the study underscores the potential of bulk DNA-based non-targeted metagenomic approaches for monitoring honey bee health, environment, and honey composition, origin, and authenticity.
蜂蜜的DNA混合物源自植物、节肢动物、真菌、细菌和病毒等多种生物体。传统方法如蜂蜜花粉分析和靶向蜂蜜DNA宏条形码分析对蜂蜜的生物成分的了解有限。我们基于266份爱沙尼亚蜂蜜样本和103份外国蜂蜜样本进行了蜂蜜全基因组宏基因组分析，以表征蜂蜜的分类组成，并识别与蜜蜂相关的病原体和寄生虫。爱沙尼亚蜂蜜中70.4%的DNA来自十字花科、蔷薇科、豆科和松科等绿色植物科。地理分布分析揭示了爱沙尼亚大陆和岛屿样本之间不同的植物组成。乳酸菌科在总体上较为普遍，这反映了蜂蜜中的蜜蜂微生物群。我们检测到12种蜜蜂病原体和寄生虫，包括幼虫芽孢杆菌、东方蜜蜂微孢子虫、狄斯瓦螨和大蜂螨。总之，该研究强调了基于全基因组的非靶向宏基因组方法在监测蜜蜂健康、环境以及蜂蜜成分、来源和真实性方面的潜力。
