The Bee Microbiome: Impact on Bee Health and Model for Evolution and Ecology of Host-Microbe Interactions

Abstract

As pollinators, bees are cornerstones for terrestrial ecosystem stability and key components in agricultural productivity. All animals, including bees, are associated with a diverse community of microbes, commonly referred to as the microbiome. The bee microbiome is likely to be a crucial factor affecting host health. However, with the exception of a few pathogens, the impacts of most members of the bee microbiome on host health are poorly understood. Further, the evolutionary and ecological forces that shape and change the microbiome are unclear. Here, we discuss recent progress in our understanding of the bee microbiome, and we present challenges associated with its investigation. We conclude that global coordination of research efforts is needed to fully understand the complex and highly dynamic nature of the interplay between the bee microbiome, its host, and the environment. High-throughput sequencing technologies are ideal for exploring complex biological systems, including host-microbe interactions. To maximize their value and to improve assessment of the factors affecting bee health, sequence data should be archived, curated, and analyzed in ways that promote the synthesis of different studies. To this end, the BeeBiome consortium aims to develop an online database which would provide reference sequences, archive metadata, and host analytical resources. The goal would be to support applied and fundamental research on bees and their associated microbes and to provide a collaborative framework for sharing primary data from different research programs, thus furthering our understanding of the bee microbiome and its impact on pollinator health.

Effect of water and resource availability on ant feeding preferences: a field experiment on the Mediterranean ant Crematogaster scutellaris

“…Gut bacteria in particular can benefit the host by aiding nutrient acquisition, protecting against parasites and pathogens and modulating immune function and development (e.g., Koch and Schmid-Hempel 2011a;Chouaia et al 2012;Brucker and Bordenstein 2013;Engel and Moran 2013;Engel et al 2016). Sociality in bees especially has been previously hypothesised to be connected with gut bacterial community.…”

“…Sociality in bees especially has been previously hypothesised to be connected with gut bacterial community. Transmission between individuals in a colony is reportedly facilitated by close contact, and such transmission has been found to be important in the establishment of the honey bee and bumblebee gut microbiome (Martinson et al 2011;Engel et al 2012;Koch et al 2013;Engel and Moran 2013;Powell et al 2014;Engel et al 2016). However, we are only beginning to understand the bidirectional relationship between the ecologically and evolutionary important behavioural and colony traits in these insects and their gut microbial communities.…”

“…15-30 days) (Seeley 1982), do not eat pollen, have low nutrient store levels and gut proteolytic enzymes, and instead are fed protein and lipids by nurses (Moritz and Crailsheim 1987;Crailsheim et al 1992). Gut bacterial communities and behavioural phenotype in worker bees may be influenced by many of the same characteristics, e.g., diet and environment (e.g., division of labour reviewed in Johnson 2010; the bee microbiome reviewed in Engel et al 2016). This means there is likely a link between behavioural phenotype and gut bacterial community, but to date this has been little explored (but see Kapheim et al 2015).…”

Gut Microbiota Colonization and Transmission in the Burying Beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides throughout Development

“…KEYWORDS Nicrophorus, parental care, symbiosis, microbiota, transmission A nimals are colonized by a diverse community of bacterial symbionts that play crucial roles in their ecology and evolution (1)(2)(3). This has been especially well studied in insects, whose bacterial symbionts can influence traits ranging from mate and diet choice (4,5) to susceptibility to natural enemies (6,7).…”

Conservation genetics of bees: advances in the application of molecular tools to guide bee pollinator conservation

“…This study suggests that artificial selection for some traits may be feasible within pollinator breeding programs, even though further research is necessary. Among other important traits that may be considered for optimal commercial bee management programs is their association with microorganisms, an interaction that can 1 3 often prove beneficial for bee health (reviewed in Engel et al 2016). In this Special Issue, Graystock et al (2017) examine the microbiota of two non-corbiculate bee species (genera Ceratina and Megalopta) and their relationship to pollen microbes.…”