Bifidobacterium actinocoloniiforme sp. nov. and Bifidobacterium bohemicum sp. nov., from the bumblebee digestive tract

Abstract

Our previous study, based primarily on PCR-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis and 16S rRNA gene sequencing, focused on the isolation of four bifidobacterial groups from the digestive tract of three bumblebee species. In that study, we proposed that these isolated groups potentially represented novel species of the family Bifidobacteriaceae. One of the four, Bifidobacterium bombi, has been described recently. Strains representing two of the other groups have been classified as members of the genus Bifidobacterium on the basis of positive results for fructose-6-phosphate phosphoketolase activity and analysis of partial 16S rRNA and heat-shock protein 60 (hsp60) gene sequences. Analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequence similarities revealed that the isolates of the first group were affiliated to Bifidobacterium asteroides YIT 11866T, B. indicum JCM 1302T and B. coryneforme ATCC 25911T (96.2, 96.0 and 95.9 % sequence similarity, respectively), together with other bifidobacteria showing lower sequence similarity. Additional representatives of the second group were found to be affiliated to Bifidobacterium minimum YIT 4097T and B. coryneforme ATCC 25911T (96.0 and 96.3 % sequence similarity) and also to other bifidobacteria with lower sequence similarity. These results indicate that the isolates of the two groups belong to novel species within the genus Bifidobacterium. This observation was further substantiated by the results of partial sequencing of hsp60. On the basis of phylogenetic and phenotypic analyses and analysis of 16S rRNA and partial hsp60 gene sequences, we propose two novel species, Bifidobacterium actinocoloniiforme sp. nov. (type strain LISLUCIII-P2T = DSM 22766T = CCM 7728T) and Bifidobacterium bohemicum sp. nov. (type strain JEMLUCVIII-4T = DSM 22767T = CCM 7729T).

Plasticity in the gut microbial community and uptake of Enterobacteriaceae (Gammaproteobacteria) in Bombus terrestris bumblebees’ nests when reared indoors and moved to an outdoor environment

“…2a). We showed that the Enterobacteriaceae bacteria are not exotic and most of the OTUs correspond with Genbank entries linked with hosts as Apis , Bombus , and other insects (Table I) (Anderson et al 2013;Killer et al 2011). We believe this is an important observation because Enterobacteriaceae are not regarded as core gut microbiota in social bees.…”

“…Looking to alpha diversity (Fig. 2b), we detected no differences in community richness (Sobs: P =0.306 and Chao1: P =0.507), but a significant difference in community diversity (Shannon: Killer et al (2011) Names in bold refer to OTU abbreviations used in this paper in agreement with classification in literature Plasticity in reared B. terrestris nests moved to outdoors P =0.002) in the group of young workers born in the old nest (O n Y b ). Indeed, the evenness of the gut microbiota is different in these young bumblebees due to the major uptake of new OTUs, especially Gamma-E2.…”

Carbohydrate metabolism in Bifidobacteria

“…The phylum Actinobacteria also comprises, among others, Actinomycetaceae, propionibacteria, corynebacteria, mycobacteria and streptomyces [103,149]. Thirty-nine species have been assigned to the genus Bifidobacterium, including recent additions such as Bifidobacterium tsurumiense [91] isolated from hamster dental plaque, Bifidobacterium mongoliense isolated from airag, a traditional Mongolian fermented horse milk product [160], Bifidobacterium crudilactis extracted from French raw milk and raw milk cheeses [20], Bifidobacterium psychraerophilum, originating from pig intestine [128], and three bifidobacterial species, Bifidobacterium bombi [52], Bifidobacterium actinicoloniformis and Bifidobacterium bohemicus [51], isolated from the digestive tract of different bumblebee species (Table 1). Furthermore, it seems that many bifidobacteria are still to be discovered as suggested by various metagenomic studies [11,137].…”

“…animalis Chicken, rat, rabbit and calf faeces; river; ex [120] subsp. lactis Fermented milk ex [77] B. asteroides Hindgut of honeybee [122] B. bifidum Adult intestine, human faeces, vagina [93] B. bohemicus Bumblebee intestine [51] B. bombi Bumblebee intestine [52] B. boum Bovine rumen; piglet faeces [121] B. breve Infant intestine, faeces, vagina [106] B. catenulatum Child and adult intestine, vagina [119] B. choerinum Pig faeces [121] B. coryneforme Hindgut of honeybee [9] B. crudilactis Raw milk and raw milk cheese [20] B. cuniculi Rabbit faeces [121] B. dentium Human dental caries, faeces, human vagina [119] B. gallicum Adult intestine (Lauer, 1990)…”

Investigation of the Evolutionary Development of the Genus Bifidobacterium by Comparative Genomics

“…The ecological distribution of bifidobacteria spans a wide range of hosts including not only mammals but also birds and social insects (4). Currently, the genus Bifidobacterium encompasses 48 taxa, representing 39 species and 9 subspecies (2,(5)(6)(7)(8). The DNA-DNA reassociation method has been considered the cornerstone of (bifido)bacterial taxonomy (5).…”