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Shao Y, Mason CJ, Felton GW. Toward an Integrated Understanding of the Lepidoptera Microbiome. ANNUAL REVIEW OF ENTOMOLOGY 2024; 69:117-137. [PMID: 37585608 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-ento-020723-102548] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/18/2023]
Abstract
Research over the past 30 years has led to a widespread acceptance that insects establish widespread and diverse associations with microorganisms. More recently, microbiome research has been accelerating in lepidopteran systems, leading to a greater understanding of both endosymbiont and gut microorganisms and how they contribute to integral aspects of the host. Lepidoptera are associated with a robust assemblage of microorganisms, some of which may be stable and routinely detected in larval and adult hosts, while others are ephemeral and transient. Certain microorganisms that populate Lepidoptera can contribute significantly to the hosts' performance and fitness, while others are inconsequential. We emphasize the context-dependent nature of the interactions between players. While our review discusses the contemporary literature, there are major avenues yet to be explored to determine both the fundamental aspects of host-microbe interactions and potential applications for the lepidopteran microbiome; we describe these avenues after our synthesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongqi Shao
- Max Planck Partner Group, Institute of Sericulture and Apiculture, College of Animal Sciences, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China;
| | - Charles J Mason
- Tropical Pest Genetics and Molecular Biology Research Unit, Daniel K. Inouye US Pacific Basin Agricultural Research Center, Agricultural Research Service, US Department of Agriculture, Hilo, Hawaii, USA;
| | - Gary W Felton
- Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA;
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Wang X, Wang H, Su X, Zhang J, Bai J, Zeng J, Li H. Dynamic changes of gut bacterial communities present in larvae of Anoplophora glabripennies collected at different developmental stages. ARCHIVES OF INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY 2023; 112:e21978. [PMID: 36377756 DOI: 10.1002/arch.21978] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2022] [Revised: 09/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/03/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
The Asian long-horned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennies (Motschulsky), is a destructive wood-boring pest that is capable of killing healthy trees. Gut bacteria in the larvae of the wood-boring pest is essential for the fitness of hosts. However, little is known about the structure of the intestinal microbiome of A. glabripennies during larval development. Here, we used Illumina MiSeq high-throughput sequencing technology to analyze the larval intestinal bacterial communities of A. glabripennies at the stages of newly hatched larvae, 1st instar larvae and 4th instar larvae. Significant differences were found in larval gut microbial community structure at different larvae developmental stages. Different dominant genus was detected during larval development. Acinetobacter were dominant in the newly hatched larvae, Enterobacter and Raoultella in the 1st instar larvae, and Enterococcus and Gibbsiella in the 4th instar larvae. The microbial richness in the newly hatched larvae was higher than those in the 1st and 4th instar larvae. Many important functions of the intestinal microbiome were predicted, for example, fermentation and chemoheterotrophy functions that may play an important role in insect growth and development was detected in the bacteria at all tested stages. However, some specific functions are found to be associated with different development stages. Our study provides a theoretical basis for investigating the function of the intestinal symbiosis bacteria of A. glabripennies.
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Affiliation(s)
- XueFei Wang
- College of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural University, Hebei, China
| | - HuaLing Wang
- College of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural University, Hebei, China
- Hebei Urban Forest Health Technology Innovation Center, Hebei, China
| | - XiaoYu Su
- College of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural University, Hebei, China
- Hebei Urban Forest Health Technology Innovation Center, Hebei, China
| | - Jie Zhang
- College of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural University, Hebei, China
| | - JiaWei Bai
- College of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural University, Hebei, China
| | - JianYong Zeng
- College of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural University, Hebei, China
- Key Laboratory of Forest Germplasm Resources and Protection of Hebei Province, Hebei, China
| | - HuiPing Li
- College of Forestry, Hebei Agricultural University, Hebei, China
- Hebei Urban Forest Health Technology Innovation Center, Hebei, China
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Kumar V, Tyagi I, Patidar A, Singha D, Tyagi K. Gut bacterial diversity on the basis of feeding behaviour in different species of thrips (Thysanoptera). JOURNAL OF TAIBAH UNIVERSITY FOR SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.1080/16583655.2022.2123208] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Vikas Kumar
- Centre for DNA Taxonomy, Molecular Systematics Division, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India
| | - Inderjeet Tyagi
- Centre for DNA Taxonomy, Molecular Systematics Division, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India
| | - Abhishek Patidar
- Centre for DNA Taxonomy, Molecular Systematics Division, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India
- Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, India
| | - Devkant Singha
- Centre for DNA Taxonomy, Molecular Systematics Division, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India
| | - Kaomud Tyagi
- Centre for DNA Taxonomy, Molecular Systematics Division, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India
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The bacterial and fungal communities of the larval midgut of Spodoptera frugiperda (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) varied by feeding on two cruciferous vegetables. Sci Rep 2022; 12:13063. [PMID: 35906471 PMCID: PMC9338029 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-17278-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Spodoptera frugiperda is a highly polyphagous pest worldwide with a wide host range that causes serious losses to many economically important crops. Recently, insect-microbe associations have become a hot spot in current entomology research, and the midgut microbiome of S. frugiperda has been investigated, while the effects of cruciferous vegetables remain unknown. In this study, the growth of S. frugiperda larvae fed on an artificial diet, Brassica campestris and Brassica oleracea for 7 days was analyzed. Besides, the microbial community and functional prediction analyses of the larval midguts of S. frugiperda fed with different diets were performed by high-throughput sequencing. Our results showed that B. oleracea inhibited the growth of S. frugiperda larvae. The larval midgut microbial community composition and structure were significantly affected by different diets. Linear discriminant analysis effect size (LEfSe) suggested 20 bacterial genera and 2 fungal genera contributed to different gut microbial community structures. The functional classification of the midgut microbiome analyzed by PICRUSt and FUNGuild showed that the most COG function categories of midgut bacterial function were changed by B. oleracea, while the guilds of fungal function were altered by B. campestris significantly. These results showed that the diversity and structure of the S. frugiperda midgut microbial community were affected by cruciferous vegetable feeding. Our study provided a preliminary understanding of the role of midgut microbes in S. frugiperda larvae in response to cruciferous vegetables.
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Ruiz Barrionuevo JM, Vilanova-Cuevas B, Alvarez A, Martín E, Malizia A, Galindo-Cardona A, de Cristóbal RE, Occhionero MA, Chalup A, Monmany-Garzia AC, Godoy-Vitorino F. The Bacterial and Fungal Gut Microbiota of the Greater Wax Moth, Galleria mellonella L. Consuming Polyethylene and Polystyrene. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:918861. [PMID: 35865934 PMCID: PMC9294514 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.918861] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 06/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Plastic production has been increasing exponentially in the last 60 years, but plastic disposal is out of control, resulting in the pollution of all ecosystems on Earth. Finding alternative environmentally sustainable choices, such as biodegradation by insects and their associated gut microbiota, is crucial, however we have only begun to characterize these ecosystems. Some bacteria and one fungus have been previously identified in the gut of Greater Wax Moth larvae (Galleria mellonella L., Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) located mainly in the Northern hemisphere. The aim of this study was to describe changes in the gut microbiota associated with the consumption of polyethylene and polystyrene by the Greater Wax Moth in Argentina, considering both bacteria and fungi. Larvae were fed polyethylene, polystyrene and beeswax as control for 7 days. Next generation sequencing revealed changes in the bacterial gut microbiome of the wax moth larvae at the phyla and genus levels, with an increase in two Pseudomonas strains. The fungal communities showed no differences in composition between diets, only changing in relative abundance. This is the first report of both bacterial and fungal communities associated with a plastivore insect. The results are promising and call for more studies concerning a potential multi-kingdom synergy in the plastic biodegradation process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juliana M. Ruiz Barrionuevo
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT)–Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Brayan Vilanova-Cuevas
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
| | - Analía Alvarez
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Tucumán, Argentina
- Planta Piloto de Procesos Industriales Microbiológicos (PROIMI-CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Eduardo Martín
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Tucumán, Argentina
- Fundación Miguel Lillo (FML), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Agustina Malizia
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT)–Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Alberto Galindo-Cardona
- Fundación Miguel Lillo (FML), Tucumán, Argentina
- Centro Científico Tecnológico (CCT-NOA SUR), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Ricardo E. de Cristóbal
- INSIBIO (CONICET - UNT), Instituto de Química Biológica “Dr. Bernabé Bloj”, Facultad de Bioquímica, Química y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán, Tucumán, Argentina
| | - M. Angelica Occhionero
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - Adriana Chalup
- Facultad de Ciencias Naturales e Instituto Miguel Lillo, Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT), Tucumán, Argentina
- Fundación Miguel Lillo (FML), Tucumán, Argentina
| | - A. Carolina Monmany-Garzia
- Instituto de Ecología Regional (IER), Universidad Nacional de Tucumán (UNT)–Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Tucumán, Argentina
- *Correspondence: A. Carolina Monmany-Garzia,
| | - Filipa Godoy-Vitorino
- Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology, School of Medicine, University of Puerto Rico, Medical Sciences Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Filipa Godoy-Vitorino,
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Li C, Han G, Sun J, Huang L, Lu Y, Xia Y, Liu Q, Xu J. The Gut Microbiota Composition of Cnaphalocrocis medinalis and Their Predicted Contribution to Larval Nutrition. Front Microbiol 2022; 13:909863. [PMID: 35668757 PMCID: PMC9166232 DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2022.909863] [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: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Intestinal bacterial flora plays an important role in the nutrition, physiology, and behavior of herbivorous insects. The composition of gut microbiota may also be affected by the food consumed. Cnaphalocrocis medinalis is an oligophagous pest, feeds on rice leaves almost exclusively and causes serious damage to rice in Asian countries. Using antibiotic treatment and metagenome sequencing, we investigated the influence of the food sources (rice and maize seedlings) on the structure and functions of intestinal bacteria of C. medinalis. Firstly, food utilization indices, relative growth rate (RGR), relative consumption rate (RCR), efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI), and efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD), were all significantly adversely affected in the antibiotic treatment eliminating gut bacteria, showing that the microbiota loading in the gut were essential for the larva growth and development of C. medinalis. Further, metagenome sequencing revealed that different diets caused a variation in gut microbiota composition of C. medinalis, indicating that the gut microbiota were in part driven by the diet provided. However, the larvae of C. medinalis hosted a core microbial community in the gut, which was independent from the diets changing. The dominant bacteria in the two feeding groups were highly consistent in the gut of C. medinalis larvae, with the gut bacterial community dominated by Firmicutes at the phylum level, Enterococcus at the genus level, Enterococcus sp. FDAARGOS-375, E. casseliflavus, E. gallinarum, and E. sp. CR-Ec1 accounted for more than 96% of the gut microbiota. Functional prediction analysis demonstrated that gut bacteria encoded a series of metabolism-related enzymes involved in carbohydrate metabolism and amino acid synthesis. Carbohydrate metabolism was the most enriched function in both groups and was more abundant in rice feeding group than in maize feeding group. The core dominant Enterococcus species possessed complete pathways of 14 carbohydrates metabolism, 11 amino acids biosynthesis, and two vitamins synthesize, implied to contribute an essential role to the nutrition intake and development of C. medinalis. Finally, the study may provide an in-depth analysis of the symbiont-host co-adaptation and new insights into the management of C. medinalis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chuanming Li
- Department of Applied Microbiology, Jiangsu Lixiahe Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Yangzhou, China.,National Experimental Station of Yangzhou for Agricultural Microbiology, Yangzhou, China
| | - Guangjie Han
- Department of Applied Microbiology, Jiangsu Lixiahe Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Yangzhou, China.,National Experimental Station of Yangzhou for Agricultural Microbiology, Yangzhou, China
| | - Jun Sun
- Yangzhou Luyuan Bio-Chemical Co., Ltd., Yangzhou, China
| | - Lixin Huang
- Department of Applied Microbiology, Jiangsu Lixiahe Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Yangzhou, China.,National Experimental Station of Yangzhou for Agricultural Microbiology, Yangzhou, China
| | - Yurong Lu
- Department of Applied Microbiology, Jiangsu Lixiahe Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Yangzhou, China.,National Experimental Station of Yangzhou for Agricultural Microbiology, Yangzhou, China
| | - Yang Xia
- Department of Applied Microbiology, Jiangsu Lixiahe Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Yangzhou, China.,National Experimental Station of Yangzhou for Agricultural Microbiology, Yangzhou, China
| | - Qin Liu
- Department of Applied Microbiology, Jiangsu Lixiahe Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Yangzhou, China.,National Experimental Station of Yangzhou for Agricultural Microbiology, Yangzhou, China.,Yangzhou Luyuan Bio-Chemical Co., Ltd., Yangzhou, China
| | - Jian Xu
- Department of Applied Microbiology, Jiangsu Lixiahe Institute of Agricultural Sciences, Yangzhou, China.,National Experimental Station of Yangzhou for Agricultural Microbiology, Yangzhou, China
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Calumby RJN, de Almeida LM, de Barros YN, Segura WD, Barbosa VT, da Silva AT, Dornelas CB, Alvino V, Grillo LAM. Characterization of cultivable intestinal microbiota in Rhynchophorus palmarum Linnaeus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and determination of its cellulolytic activity. ARCHIVES OF INSECT BIOCHEMISTRY AND PHYSIOLOGY 2022; 110:e21881. [PMID: 35263470 DOI: 10.1002/arch.21881] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Revised: 02/10/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Rhynchophorus palmarum Linnaeus is an agricultural pest that affects various palm crops, including coconut (Cocos nucifera) plantations which are prominent in the economy of Northeastern Brazil. Characterization of the intestinal microbiota of R. palmarum, as well as elucidation of aspects related to the biochemistry and physiology of the insect's digestion, is essential for intervention in specific metabolic processes as a form of pest control. Thus, this study aimed to characterize the intestinal microbiota of R. palmarum and investigate its ability to degrade cellulosic substrates, to explore new biological control measures. Intestinal dissection of eight adult R. palmarum insects was performed in a laminar flow chamber, and the intestines were homogenized in sterile phosphate-buffered saline solution. Subsequently, serial dilution aliquots of these solutions were spread on nutritive agar plates for the isolation of bacteria and fungi. The microorganisms were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization with a time-of-flight mass spectrometry and evaluated for their ability to degrade cellulose. Fourteen bacterial genera (Acinetobacter, Alcaligenes, Arthrobacter, Bacillus, Citrobacter, Enterococcus, Kerstersia, Lactococcus, Micrococcus, Proteus, Providencia, Pseudomonas, Serratia, and Staphylococcus) and two fungal genera (Candida and Saccharomyces)-assigned to the Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Proteobacteria, and Ascomycota phyla-were identified. The cellulolytic activity was exhibited by six bacterial and one fungal species; of these, Bacillus cereus demonstrated the highest enzyme synthesis (enzymatic index = 4.6). This is the first study characterizing the R. palmarum intestinal microbiota, opening new perspectives for the development of strategies for the biological control of this insect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rodrigo J N Calumby
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | - Lara M de Almeida
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | - Yasmin N de Barros
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of São Paulo, Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Wilson D Segura
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of São Paulo, Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Valcilaine T Barbosa
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | - Antonio T da Silva
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | - Camila B Dornelas
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | - Valter Alvino
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
| | - Luciano A M Grillo
- Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Alagoas, Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil
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Zhou Z, Huang H, Che X. Bacterial Communities in the Feces of Laboratory Reared Gampsocleis gratiosa (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae) across Different Developmental Stages and Sexes. INSECTS 2022; 13:insects13040361. [PMID: 35447806 PMCID: PMC9024567 DOI: 10.3390/insects13040361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Revised: 04/05/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022]
Abstract
Simple Summary Many insects host a diverse gut microbial community, ranging from pathogenic to obligate mutualistic organisms. Little is known about the bacteria associated with katydids. Gampsocleis gratiosa (Orthoptera, Tettigoniidae) is an economically important singing pet in China. In the present study, the bacterial communities of the laboratory-reared G. gratiosa feces were characterized using Illumina sequencing of the 16S rDNA V3-V4 region. Abstract We used Illumina sequencing of the 16S rDNA V3-V4 region to identify the bacterial community in laboratory-reared G. gratiosa feces across different developmental stages (1st–7th instar nymph day 0, and 0-, 7-, 14-, and 21-day adult) and sexes. In total, 14,480,559 high-quality reads were clustered into 2982 species-level operational taxonomic units (OTUs), with an average of 481.197 (±137.366) OTUs per sample. These OTUs were assigned into 25 phyla, 42 classes, 60 orders, 116 families, 241 genera, and some unclassified groups. Only 21 core OTUs were shared by all samples. The most representative phylum was Proteobacteria, followed by Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, and Acidobacteria. At the genus level, Kluyvera (387 OTUs), Obesumbacterium (339 OTUs), Buttiauxella (296 OTUs), Lactobacillus (286 OTUs), and Hafnia (152 OTUs) were dominant bacteria. The early-instar nymphs harbored a similar bacterial community with other developmental stages, which contain higher species diversity. Both principal coordinate analysis (PCoA) and non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis (NMDS) failed to provide a clear clustering based on the developmental stages and sexes. Overall, we assume that G. gratiosa transmits bacteria vertically by eating contaminated eggshells, and both developmental stages and sexes had no significant effect on the fecal bacterial community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhijun Zhou
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Application of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China; (H.H.); (X.C.)
- Institute of Life Science and Green Development, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China
- Correspondence:
| | - Huimin Huang
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Application of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China; (H.H.); (X.C.)
| | - Xuting Che
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Application of Hebei Province, College of Life Sciences, Hebei University, Baoding 071002, China; (H.H.); (X.C.)
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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.
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