1
|
Loss and Gain of Gut Bacterial Phylotype Symbionts in Afrotropical Stingless Bee Species (Apidae: Meliponinae). Microorganisms 2021; 9:microorganisms9122420. [PMID: 34946022 PMCID: PMC8708602 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms9122420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/08/2021] [Revised: 11/02/2021] [Accepted: 11/15/2021] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) are the most diverse group of corbiculate bees and are important managed and wild pollinators distributed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the globe. However, little is known about their associated beneficial microbes that play major roles in host nutrition, detoxification, growth, activation of immune responses, and protection against pathogens in their sister groups, honeybees and bumble bees. Here, we provide an initial characterization of the gut bacterial microbiota of eight stingless bee species from sub-Saharan Africa using 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Our findings revealed that Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria were the dominant and conserved phyla across the eight stingless bee species. Additionally, we found significant geographical and host intra-species-specific bacterial diversity. Notably, African strains showed significant phylogenetic clustering when compared with strains from other continents, and each stingless bee species has its own microbial composition with its own dominant bacterial genus. Our results suggest host selective mechanisms maintain distinct gut communities among sympatric species and thus constitute an important resource for future studies on bee health management and host-microbe co-evolution and adaptation.
Collapse
|
2
|
Waiker P, de Abreu FCP, Luna-Lucena D, Freitas FCP, Simões ZLP, Rueppell O. Recombination mapping of the Brazilian stingless bee Frieseomelitta varia confirms high recombination rates in social hymenoptera. BMC Genomics 2021; 22:673. [PMID: 34536998 PMCID: PMC8449902 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-021-07987-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 09/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Meiotic recombination is a fundamental genetic process that shuffles allele combinations and promotes accurate segregation of chromosomes. Analyses of the ubiquitous variation of recombination rates within and across species suggest that recombination is evolving adaptively. All studied insects with advanced eusociality have shown exceptionally high recombination rates, which may represent a prominent case of adaptive evolution of recombination. However, our understanding of the relationship between social evolution and recombination rates is incomplete, partly due to lacking empirical data. Here, we present a linkage map of the monandrous, advanced eusocial Brazilian stingless bee, Frieseomelitta varia, providing the first recombination analysis in the diverse Meliponini (Hymenoptera, Apidae). Results Our linkage map includes 1417 markers in 19 linkage groups. This map spans approximately 2580 centimorgans, and comparisons to the physical genome assembly indicate that it covers more than 75 % of the 275 Megabasepairs (Mbp) F. varia genome. Thus, our study results in a genome-wide recombination rate estimate of 9.3–12.5 centimorgan per Mbp. This value is higher than estimates from nonsocial insects and comparable to other highly social species, although it does not support our prediction that monandry and strong queen-worker caste divergence of F. varia lead to even higher recombination rates than other advanced eusocial species. Conclusions Our study expands the association between elevated recombination and sociality in the order Hymenoptera and strengthens the support for the hypothesis that advanced social evolution in hymenopteran insects invariably selects for high genomic recombination rates. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12864-021-07987-3.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Prashant Waiker
- Biology Department, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 321 McIver St, Greensboro, NC, 27412, USA.
| | - Fabiano Carlos Pinto de Abreu
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, SP, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Danielle Luna-Lucena
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Flávia Cristina Paula Freitas
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.,Departamento de Biologia Celular e do Desenvolvimento, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Alfenas, MG, Brazil
| | - Zilá Luz Paulino Simões
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, SP, Ribeirão Preto, Brazil
| | - Olav Rueppell
- Biology Department, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 321 McIver St, Greensboro, NC, 27412, USA.,Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, AB, T6G 2E9, Edmonton, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Garcia Bulle Bueno F, Gloag R, Latty T, Ronai I. Irreversible sterility of workers and high-volume egg production by queens in the stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria. J Exp Biol 2020; 223:jeb230599. [PMID: 32737215 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.230599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Social insects are characterised by a reproductive division of labour between queens and workers. However, in the majority of social insect species, the workers are only facultatively sterile. The Australian stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria is noteworthy as workers never lay eggs. Here, we describe the reproductive anatomy of Tcarbonaria workers, virgin queens and mated queens. We then conduct the first experimental test of absolute worker sterility in the social insects. Using a controlled microcolony environment, we investigate whether the reproductive capacity of adult workers can be rescued by manipulating the workers' social environment and diet. The ovaries of T. carbonaria workers that are queenless and fed unrestricted, highly nutritious royal jelly remain non-functional, indicating they are irreversibly sterile and that ovary degeneration is fixed prior to adulthood. We suggest that Tcarbonaria might have evolved absolute worker sterility because colonies are unlikely to ever be queenless.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Garcia Bulle Bueno
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Rosalyn Gloag
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Tanya Latty
- Insect Behaviour and Ecology Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| | - Isobel Ronai
- Behaviour, Ecology and Evolution Laboratory, School of Life and Environmental Sciences A12, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Freitas FCP, Depintor TS, Agostini LT, Luna-Lucena D, Nunes FMF, Bitondi MMG, Simões ZLP, Lourenço AP. Evaluation of reference genes for gene expression analysis by real-time quantitative PCR (qPCR) in three stingless bee species (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini). Sci Rep 2019; 9:17692. [PMID: 31776359 PMCID: PMC6881334 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-53544-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/17/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Stingless bees are generalist pollinators distributed through the pantropical region. There is growing evidence that their wild populations are experiencing substantial decline in response to habitat degradation and pesticides. Policies for conservation of endangered species will benefit from studies focusing on genetic and molecular aspects of their development and behavior. The most common method for looking at gene expression is real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction preceded by reverse transcription (RT-qPCR) of the mRNA of interest. This method requires the identification of reliable reference genes to correctly estimate fluctuations in transcript levels. To contribute to molecular studies on stingless bees, we used Frieseomelitta varia, Melipona quadrifasciata, and Scaptotrigona bipunctata species to test the expression stability of eight reference genes (act, ef1-α, gapdh, rpl32, rps5, rps18, tbp, and tbp-af) in RT-qPCR procedures in five physiological and experimental conditions (development, sex, tissues, bacteria injection, and pesticide exposure). In general, the rpl32, rps5 and rps18 ribosomal protein genes and tpb-af gene showed the highest stability, thus being identified as suitable reference genes for the three stingless bee species and defined conditions. Our results also emphasized the need to evaluate the stability of candidate genes for any designed experimental condition and stingless bee species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Flávia C P Freitas
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.,Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas, Alfenas, MG, Brazil
| | - Thiago S Depintor
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Lucas T Agostini
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Danielle Luna-Lucena
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Francis M F Nunes
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.,Departamento de Genética e Evolução, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Federal de São Carlos, São Carlos, SP, Brazil
| | - Márcia M G Bitondi
- Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Zilá L P Simões
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.,Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil
| | - Anete P Lourenço
- Departamento de Genética, Faculdade de Medicina de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil. .,Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal dos Vales do Jequitinhonha e Mucuri, Diamantina, MG, Brazil.
| |
Collapse
|